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Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Boo-Fuckin'-YAH! (again) Matt Taibibi on the Media and Michael Moore. Christopher Hitchens crawling out of a bottle long enough to denounce Michael Moore as a coward. I can't imagine anything more uplifting, except maybe a zoo baboon humping the foot of a medical school cadaver. And... One friend I know describes working in the media as shoveling coal for Satan. That's about right. A worker in a tampon factory has dignity: He just uses his sweat to make a product, a useful product at that, and doesn't lie to himself about what he does. In this business we make commodities for sale and, for the benefit of our consciences and our egos, we call them ideas and truth. And then we go on the lecture circuit. But in 99 cases out of 100, the public has more to learn about humanity from the guy who makes tampons. That's some damn fine reading there, folks. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 3:27:00 PM   | More Darwin Candidates Florida man dies when fireworks in back seat go off. Seems a couple of guys were having a good time driving down the road and throwing lit firecrackers out their window. When a spark got into their back seat, the fireworks stored there went off, igniting the car. 1 man died from second degree burns over 90% of his body. Folks, I can't stress this enough: STASH YOUR FIREWORKS IN A BOX WITH A SECURE LID if you're going to drive around and throw them out your car window. Keep a fire extinguisher handy. Aravis Walker gets 6-1 odds on capturing the Darwin. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:57:00 AM | Um, like, sorry about the whole destruction of the Eastern Empire. Our bad! Pope apologizes to Eastern Orthodox Church for the 1204 sack of Constantinople by crusaders. Hurm. Guess that means we can expect the Pope to apoligize for the RCC's all-but-explicit sanction of child sex abuse sometime around 2804? Dayum, but that's a long time to wait. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:41:00 AM | Tuesday, June 29, 2004
for all those Nader 2000 folks Maggie got a little hot under the collar regarding my harping on Nader. That's cool - if you think I harp on something too much, feel free to comment about it. I'll either respond in calm, measured tones and politely acknowledge your points, or I'll get all pissy. It's kind of a gamble for you, but that's what makes life interesting. I'm not perfect - I've made bad choices in my political allegiances (although, to their credit, the CP-USA did kick me out before I got too involved with them), and I'll no doubt do it again. Here's the deal, though - votes for Nader did make a difference in Florida. So did Katherine Harris' purge of Nader gets special mention from me because of his two-faced duplicity - this is a man that, by all rights, should be working to defeat Bush, and he's made it clear time and time again that he's more interested in "punishing" the Democratic Party for it's failings, real and imagined, than he is in leveraging positive change. Hell - we expect the thug wing of the Republican Party to Do Bad Things. Nader's supposed to be one of the good guys, yet he keeps trying his damndest to get the Bad Guys in office. So if you voted for Nader in 2000, you've got another choice this year. This will, in all likelihood, be another squeaker of an election, and the way The Simp Chimp's polling, a lot of "Red" states are actually going to be battlegrounds. A few votes can, and will, make the difference. Think carefully before you vote - will you choose pragmatism or idealism? If the former, there'll be some discomfort. If the latter, expect to get razzed some more. That's the way politics works here - the main parties coopt the fringe ideals they need to secure votes, but if you make it clear that they won't pull votes from the fringes, they'll gravitate towards the center. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:56:00 PM | Boo-fuckin'-YAH! Gary Indiana reviews My Life in The Village Voice I will leave it to others to parse whether it is preferable, given the systemic and implacable evils of maintaining an empire that is inherently vampiric and suicidal, to have its declining years managed by Rapture-hungry mental dwarves, cretinous judges flapping about in Iolanthe-inspired Inquisition costumes of their own design, and megalomaniacs of indeterminable species such as Richard Perle; or by a plain-talking arriviste who can't resist a Big Mac and a strawberry milk shake, and once in a while needs a blowjob from somebody he isn't married to. I happen to think it does make a difference what kind of arse sits in the Oval Office and whether he governs with a sense of his own transience and imperfection or uses fear and intimidation to whip the population into line with whatever brand of pious bullshit makes him feel like Superman. For people who truly believe the Bush coup d'état has "restored honor to the Presidency," or however that tired tune goes, I recommend Bill Clinton's book as a good strong dose of the reality principle. Honorable people don't waste any time proclaiming how honorable they are, and sometimes honor consists in admitting you fucked up. Oh, yeah, and all you brilliant Nader voters, ask yourself this: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 3:12:00 PM | The Clusterfuck That Is Iraq First, we've got Paul Krugman's piece on how cronyism, politically motiviated selections and the fiscal car crash that is "supply side" economics has fucked Iraq up. "Insurgents are blowing up pipelines and police stations, geysers of sewage are erupting from the streets, and the electricity is off most of the time — but we've given Iraq the gift of supply-side economics." Next, we've got Col. David Hackworth, no America-hating liberal (I must admit that, despite having been a so-called A-HL for almost 30 years, I've yet to meet a liberal that actually hates America), on how miserable a job the Neo-clowns have done, and the damage they've done to our military. America would be a whole lot safer if the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, was flying for Virgin Airlines, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was competing on “Survivor.” Both war leaders have done so miserable a job honchoing the military side of our critical conflict against global terrorism, and in the process so jeopardized our national security, that they should be sacked for dereliction of duty. Contrary to continuing political spin, Iraq and Afghanistan both are running sores with little promise of even a long-term turnaround, and our world today is far more dangerous than it was before 9/11. Unless there's a 180-degree change in overall strategy, the USA is doomed to follow the same bloody path through these two brutal killing fields that the Soviet Union took in Afghanistan. The mighty sword that Rumsfeld and Myers inherited four years ago – the finest military force in the world – is now chipped and dulled. And the word is that it will take at least a decade to get our overextended, bone-tired soldiers and Marines and their worn-out gear back in shape. Isn't it beautiful to know that the Simp Chimp's misAdministration has given us a gift that will be making life difficult for our grandchildren? posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:37:00 AM | Texas Tuesdays Helpin' out Charles Kuffner again - this week, he's highlighting Jake Gilbreath, a callege student running for the Lege. Read up on him here, here, and here. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:29:00 AM | Number One With A Bullet, Baby! According to Google, I am now the #1 search result for the words "FRICKIN ASSHOLE CHENEY". I'd like to thank the Academy, and all those folks out there that always believed in me. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:29:00 AM | Monday, June 28, 2004
OK, here's my take on today's handover of sovereignty You remember when you were a kid, and you'd play backyard baseball at your friend Billy's house? This is like the time you were at bat and hit a beautiful, out-of-the-yard line drive smack into Crazy Old Man MacGruder's picture window. Everyone else immediately scattered excapt you and your friend Billy. The last thing you did before running like hell was shove the baseball bat into Billy's hands and leave him there to face the wrath of Crazy Old Man MacGruder. That's what happened today. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:10:00 PM | Where I Stand – almost a manifesto I’m not a high-powered intellectual – while I’m not unintelligent, I tend to lose interest in bolstering my ideas after a while (Hello, ADHD!) and move on to some new piece of shiny stuff that’s grabbed my attention. To those that know me in Meatspace, or have been reading this blog for a while, many of my political ideals are rather obvious. Others are not so blatant and, perhaps, counter-intuitive. I thought I’d try to articulate them, as much because I’m at a loss for something else to write today as any other reason. Looking at the major (and some not so major) issues: Iraq - I was initially a supporter of this war, based upon some long-held Wilsonian ideals regarding the obligation to spread democratic and humanistic government as much as possible. I regard the conduct of this war to date as shameful, wasteful and about as wrong as wrong can be. At this point, we’ve got to stick around there until something resembling stability is achieved. Ideally, we’d finance UN peacekeepers from other Moslem nations for a couple of years, but I don’t see that happening. It’s going to turn into a bigger mess than it is, and lots more people are going to die. Abortion - I support a woman’s right to choose. I support the needs of actual humans over potential humans. I also, paradoxically, think that there are tons of unanswered questions about abortion, and that ultimately, I’ll never be the one that makes that difficult choice. Gay Rights - This one’s the shocker, I know. I’m all about the equal rights. Marriage, job security, military service, adoption – the works. It’s shameful that here, in the dawn of the 21st Century, we’re still arguing over whether human beings have a right to be treated as such. Guns - While not a big fan of what passes for “gun culture” here in the states (a good number of the more vocal gun owners are loutish jerks), I don’t have a problem with guns per se. I used to own a handgun (a .357, if you wanna know - it was a replica of a Colt Peacemaker, single-action, kicked like a motherfucker, and loads of fun to shoot) and would not mind owning one again, but don’t now for 2 very good reasons: (1) Melissa is vehemently opposed to gun ownership and I’m not inclined to make that a wedge issue in our relationship and (2) We’ve got kids in the house. Kids with imagination and a propensity to root around in the house if left unsupervised for even a few minutes. Kids that would likely think a gun, even locked in a safe with a lock on the trigger, an interesting challenge to surmount, and I’m not entirely confident that they would be unable to pick a lock or find a key. So no guns in the house. The NRA has a lot of sane members and a dangerously insane leadership. The same can be said of a lot or organizations, but the NRA skews more heavily armed than the Goldifsh Fanciers of America. Taxes - I’m all for taxes. Our taxes fund schools, fire departments, police, the military, pave roads, help explore space and do tons of other things our society needs to keep functioning. Here’s the deal: many Americans don’t pay their fair share. The wealthy enjoy a huge tax cut courtesy of The Simp Chimp, corporations are able to open an account and rent a PO box in the Cayman Islands and pay next to nothing in taxes, and the churches are given a free ride. Meanwhile, the Middle Class is stuck picking up the tab. Poor Americans are denied the help they need to move into the middle class, college grants are slashed and soldiers and their families are screwed. You make $400,000 a year, and you’re bitching about paying 30%? Fuck you! Pay. Your. Fair. Share. The Death Penalty - I support it in concept – I’ll grant that there are extreme cases in which the risk of a repeat offense, combined with an exceptionally heinous crime and OVERWHELMING evidence of guilt (including, I would think, an uncoerced confession) might necessitate a sentence of death. That ain’t the way it’s done, though. It’s the poor folks, the colored folks (and more tellingly), the poor colored folks that kill wealthy white folks that get sentenced to death. Your ability to hire your own lawyer has more to do with whether or not you’re sentenced to death than your actual guilt or innocence. Israel/The Middle East - Israel exists. Any discussion has to start there. Shutting down funding for Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other terrorist groups has to happen, but that depends on 2 things – demonstrated Israeli commitment to leaving the West Bank and Gaza and Saudi Arabia (biggest fundraisers for those and other groups). It seems that every time the Israelis get close to thinking that, maybe, they oughtta Do Right by the Palestinians, some asshole with an explosives-packed vest goes in and blows himself up in a crowded shopping center. The Israelis then lose their shit and send tanks into that guy’s hometown, and maybe shoot some missiles at a car carrying a terrorist leader, and that makes the Palestinians lose their shit, and it just spirals further out of control from there. I veer between the hopeful (Israel manages to achieve a withdrawal, sane Palestinians respond in kind, things gradually move to a state of détente and years later it’s, if not hunky-dory, at least moderately peaceful) and the pessimistic (there’s something in the air over there that make you bugfuck, shit-flinging crazy, and we ought to wall the whole area off and wait a couple of generations for all the whackjobs to kill each other off). Religion - As Marvin’s stated before, Keep Yer Jeezus off Mah Peenus. I’m not a religious person, but a lot of folks I respect are, like my parents and my wife. I don’t want the government telling folks what religions are valid, and I don’t want religions telling me what governments are valid. I do, however, think we ought to tax the churches, starting with the Catholic Church and all those goddamn televangelists. Science and space funding - More. More, more, more. We need to get Solar Power Satellites running, we need more research into petroleum alternatives, we need more money to get us off the Saudi oil teat. Medical research, stem-cells, and AIDS vaccine, let’s wipe out Polio and Cholera and Measles like we did smallpox. Let’s grow food for the hungry, let’s develop grasses to grass over the Sahara, let’s pump water into the Qattarah depression and make an inland sea to bring rain and help green the desert. Let’s build a beanstalk to haul people to orbit, let’s run magnetic pulse accelerators up Pike’s Peak, Mt. Kilamanjaro and the east side of the Andes to send building materials to space. I want flying cars, boosted lifespans and uplifted dogs, and I want all of that before 4 o’clock tea. That’s the basics right there, the issues I care the most about. Well, those, and getting the goddamn Simp Chimp and his Chimpathizers our of the White House and Congress. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:06:00 AM | Sunday, June 27, 2004
Meanwhile, back on the ranch... Taliban kill 16 Afghans registered to vote. Rozi Khan, the Uruzgan police chief, said assailants stopped a van carrying 12 men on a road about 18 miles from the provincial capital, Tirin Kot. When the gunmen searched their documents and found that they had registered to vote, they opened fire. Two men escaped and alerted police, who found the 10 bodies but have made no arrests. Obaidullah Khan, the top political administrator of the victims' home district of Uruzgan, confirmed the attack but said 16 people had died, and only one man had survived. Good to know things are nice and settled down in Afghanistan. Aren't you glad we stopped hunting the Taliban so we could chase down ficticious WMD? I know the Afghans are. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 5:20:00 PM | Thomas Paine I've always admired him most of our Founding Fathers - an iconoclast, a loner, a curmudgeon that was a revolutionary first and never a statesman. After watching "Fahrenheit 9/11", I was reminded of a statement from Common Sense: The cause of America is, in a great measure, the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all lovers of mankind are affected, and in the event of which, their affections are interested. The laying a country desolate with fire and sword, declaring war against the natural rights of all mankind, and extirpating the defenders thereof from the face of the earth, is the concern of every man to whom nature hath given the power of feeling; of which class, regardless of party censure, is We have become what we fought against. Friedrich Nietzsche said, "Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes into you." posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:12:00 AM | When I walked into the house, Baby Alec woke up, so I calmed him down and got him back to sleep, and I've got 25 pounds of beautiful child asleep in my arms. His blonde hair is sticking out in every direction, his eyes are closed and his lolly is barely hanging in his mouth as he relaxes back into a deep sleep. My other children are asleep, Drew sprawled sidewise on his bed, the book he was reading as he fell asleep under his cheek. Franny with her topsheet wrapped around her, Chester Bear cradled in her arms. Melissa's gone back to sleep now. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a painful movie to watch - Moore knows how to play your emotions, and does it well. It's got humor in it, but it's the painful kind, the kind that keeps you from letting the sadness overwhelm you. The kind of humor that keeps you from wanting to kill someone. The theater was packed - I was at the Alamo Drafthouse, normally a favorite place to watch movies, as good beer and food plus a decent movie are a Good Thing. I drank one beer, one diet coke, and left an entire bowl of popcorn untouched. I couldn't eat, the way my stomach was aching. I can't sleep, either. My stomach aches, my heart aches and my mind is seething. Go see this, if you haven't already. I don't like it when people tell me I "have to see" a movie - my usual response is to dig my heels in and flat-out refuse to see the movie, just to be contrary. I'm telling you now you need to see this movie. Set aside your opinion of Michael Moore. This movie is a work by a man that loves his country, that honors the men and women that serve in its military. It's a movie that asks, "What have we done? What has been done to us? What are we doing to ourselves and to others?" It's true in the same way that 1984 is true, that Les Miserables is true - a truth of spirit, and of anger at injustice, rage at venality and hatred of slick, superficial posturing. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:35:00 AM | Saturday, June 26, 2004
First the monkeys, now the machines Vending machine in Port Arthur, TX dispenses phosgene gas. A food service employee was working on the refrigerated soft drink machine at the Park Place Medical Centre in Port Arthur, Texas, when a small explosion and fire occurred inside it, Port Arthur Fire Marshal Mark Mulliner said. "When freon gas from the cooling system came into contact with the heat from the fire, it changed composition to a phosgene gas," Mr Mulliner said. Yeah, I bet this "just happened." Obviously, the machines have decided that the monkeys would make better partners than humans. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:21:00 PM | Phaedrus discusses this on his blog - If They Aren't Dick-tators, Why These Lies? For a group that claims to want freedom from oppressive government, they sure do want to get the government into everything - from your library records to your bedroom. For a bunch that claims the American values of liberty and prosperity are the best way to go, they're acting like a bunch of Soviet-era apparatchiks. They seem to think that by setting up a bottleneck for American scientists to consult with the World Health Organization, they can make sure that their idiotic, fundamentalist, fascist-theocratic worldview can be made legitimate. I'd like to take this opportunity to reassure the rest of the civilized world that we're trying our hardest to get rid of these clowns. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 5:58:00 PM | Something's rotten about Saint Nader I mean, helping to hand the state of Florida to The Simp Chimp in 2000 wasn't enough (and, yes, the Repukicans did a lot to fuck that up too - I'm not blaming Nader for everything, but the asshole certainly helped) - Ralphie wants to do it all again. Of late, we've been finding lots of information about Ralphie and his friends. Didja know the Arizona GOP has been helping to fund his petition drive to get on the ballot? I'm still not sure what to make of this photo from Daily Kos. Didja know that Saint Nader's been getting help from Repukican anti-tax groups in Oregon because they want him to take votes from Kerry? Or that Nader's appeared on right-wing talk shows in Oregon to get signatures for his ballot drive there? Now we find that Nader's been getting office space for his campaign from a charity he founded - and at below-market rates. It's almost depressing to see someone like him piss away whatever shreds of legitimacy his earlier career as a consumer adovcate were left after 2000. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: IF YOU VOTE FOR NADER, YOU MIGHT AS WELL VOTE FOR BUSH. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:18:00 AM | Friday, June 25, 2004
I'm wondering... What prompts you to comment, both here and on other blogs? Is it the topic, knowing the blogger, the alignment of the stars or something else? I'm not bewailing a lack of comments, I was just looking over the comments each post has received, and wondered if I could detect a common thread between all of them. So, besides direct pleas like this one for response from readers, what makes you click the "comment" link and type something? And please, resist the temptation to engage in perversity and refrain from comment. I really am just curious and nothing more. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:05:00 PM | Friday Five Who are the people in your neighborhood? The people that you meet each day? That is, 5 people who are neither friend nor family member, and whose name you may or may not know, but whom you see everyday or thereabouts, e.g. your paperboy, local bum, milkman, etc. - from Roganda I'd like to say thank you for the earwig, Roganda. Nothing like a Sesame Street flashback to start the day. Living in Suburbia, we've got a lot of neighbors, but we don't know many of them very well. The ones we do know, we get along with alright, although for the life of me, I can't remember their names. I'm reasonably certain they don't read my blog, but I'll make up names for them anyway. (1) Mr. and Mrs. Oldfolks. The oldfolks live next door, and seem nice enough. They're retired, and very devoted to lawn care. As we do not share that enthusiasm, we've been viewed as suspect by Mr. Oldfolks, although Mrs. Oldfolks has always been friendly enough. They have a garage sale every couple of months, to which their sons bring a bunch of old computer parts and office equipment. I almost bought a Sega Dreamcast last winter, but Melissa talked me out of it. (2) The Middleagers. They live on the other side of us from the Oldfolks, and have 2 sons (1 from each of their previous marriages) and a daughter that's in elementary school. We chat with them more than we do the Oldfolks, although their daughter is very leery of strangers, which apparently includes everyone outside their family. When we first moved into our neighborhood, we paid Teen #1 and Teen #2 to mow our lawn. Teen #1 has since moved back with his mother, and Teen #2 has grown into a Surly Teen With Long Hair. (3) The Nicefolks. They live across the street, and we talk to them more than any of our other neighbors. Right now, the family consists of Mrs. Nicefolk and her adult daughter (Mr. Nicefolk died last year), and they think Baby Alec is the cutest thing you've ever seen. At a Christmas open house they had last year, I learned that they're big Bush supporters, so I try to avoid discussing politics with them. (4) The Jogger. This woman, in early middle age, runs by our house in the morning and the afternoons 7 days a week. She's got short hair, and bears an uncanny resemblance to one of my aunts. This causes no small amount of cognitive dissonance every morning as I look out the window pre-caffeine and always first think that my aunt has come into town unannounced for a jog. (5) The Asshole on the Cul-de-sac. This guy lives at the end of the cul-de-sac opposite our house. I don't know his name or anything about him except for two facts: (a) He gets a new tow truck to drive about once a month and noisily shifts gears in it at about 3AM 2-3 nights a week. (b) His child(ren) think it's fun to set off fireworks in the wee hours of the morning on weeknights. Granted, they haven't done that since I stormed out of my house at 3AM to scream profanity at them and tell them to shut the fuck up, but I figure it's just a matter of time before it becomes necessary to repeat myself. The Nicefolks think that Mr. Asshole is a drug dealer, but I don't think he's together enough to do that, plus there's not that much traffic at his house. Honorable mention: (1) The Goth - this mopey teen strolls down our block after school. (2) Mr. Motorcycle - Unmufflered big-ass motorcycles are, apparently, a sign of virility. At least, that's what this guy wants us to think. All I know is, the goddamn things wake up the baby. That's why I want to make an EMP generator to short out his systems. (3) The Bass Thumpers - I think these teens live with Mr. Motorcycle, and they use the thudding bass of their insanely overpowered stereo system to demonstrate to all and sundry that, whatever other intellectual or hygienic defects they possess, their penises are larger than average. The other Friday Fivers are listed to the left. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:42:00 AM | Now we know how Justice went blind... OK judge used penis pump during courtroom proceedings. According to testimony from a court clerk and several other court employees, Oklahoma Judge Donald D. Thompson is accused of masturbating with a penis pump while conducting trials. He was also seen by his clerk shaving his penis and applyiing lubricant. Visitors to Thompson's Creek County courtroom reported hearing a "swooshing" sound coming from the bench, a noise the court reporter said "sounded like a blood pressure cuff being pumped up." Thompson, the complaint charges, even pumped himself up during an August 2003 murder trial. The AG's petition quotes Thompson (pictured above) as admitting that the pump was "under the bench" during the murder case (and at other times), but he denied using the item, which was supposedly a "gag gift from a friend." Now, if the man wanted to spank it, that's his prerogative, dig? What bugs me is that apparently, he really got off on whacking off during a murder trial. Granted, that might explain why he's been so willing to give folks the death penalty. Anyone wanna lay down some odds he's a Republican? posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:33:00 AM | Thursday, June 24, 2004
Restoring Honor and Dignity my ASS Cheney curses senator over Halliburton criticism Typically a break from partisan warfare, this year's Senate class photo turned smiles into snarls as Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly used a profanity toward one senior Democrat, sources said. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who was on the receiving end of Cheney's ire, confirmed that the Vice President used profanity during Tuesday's class photo. A spokesman for Cheney confirmed there was a "frank exchange of views." Using profanity on the Senate floor while the Senate is session is against the rules. But the Senate was technically not in session at the time and the normal rules did not apply, a Senate official said. The story, which was recounted by several sources, goes like this: Cheney, who as president of the Senate was present for the picture day, turned to Leahy and scolded the senator over his recent criticism of the vice president for Halliburton's alleged war profiteering. Cheney is the former CEO of Halliburton, and Democrats have suggested that while serving in the Bush administration he helped win lucrative contracts for his former firm, including a no-bid contract to rebuild Iraq. Cheney's office has said repeatedly that the vice president has no role in government contracting and has severed all financial ties with the Texas-based oil services conglomerate. Cheney was chief executive officer of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000. He resigned when he became George Bush's running mate. Responding to Cheney's comment, Leahy reminded him of an earlier statement the vice president had made about him. Cheney then replied with profanity. Leahy would not comment on the specifics of the story Thursday, but did confirm that Cheney used profanity. "I think he was just having a bad day," said Leahy, "and I was kind of shocked to hear that kind of language on the floor." Kevin Kellems, a spokesman for the vice president, said, "That doesn't sound like the kind of language that the vice president would use, but I can confirm that there was a frank exchange of views." Too bad Leahy didn't issue some smackdown on that fat, pustulent bag of shit masquerading as a human being. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 5:55:00 PM | A Better Way To Watch Robert Tilton Tilton's one of those sleazy, creepy posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 2:19:00 PM | NASA drops the ball, providing a surprise to no one In this age of decreasing reserves and instability in the world's primary producers of oil, the raw material that more than any other drives the world economy, it would seem logical that any research that could decrease our dependance upon petroleum for power generation would be given priority in funding. Not so. Wired News reports that in 2001, NASA unexpectedly cut funding for research into Solar Power Satellites. The funds were shuffled into the STS and ISS programs instead. I'm a big booster of space exploration, but in 2000, NASA officials had testified that the odds were good that an SPS system could be deployed as early as 2006, beaming gigawatts of power down to receiver stations on the Earth. It takes about 714 lbs of coal to generate enough power to keep a 100 watt light bulb lit 24 hours a day for one year. Let's look at a house with nothing in it except 6 rooms, each lit by a 100 watt bulb. For one year, that's 4,284 lbs of coal. In comparison, 1 gigawatt of power would light that same house for 166,666,666 years, more or less. The US uses (as of 1999) over 3.23 terawatts of power each year (that's 3,230,000,000,000,000 watts, or 3,230,000,000,000 hundred watt light bulbs). Clearly, it's much more important to get an SPS system deployed and working as soon as possible, and the sooner, the better. A great deal of the unrest and conflict in the world centers around the Middle East, where we get the majority of our oil. While the current war in Iraq may not be directly about oil, our need for ever-increasing amounts of it certainly informs our desire for stability in this area. Screw regime change in the Middle East - I want regime change at NASA. With SPS satellites in orbit, we'll have a tangible reason to go into orbit and maintain a presence. With SPS giving us more power, we can go on an oil diet and reduce the influence the Middle East has on our day to day lives. Less money for Saudi Arabia means less money for the PLO and Hamas, which might encourage those groups to consider rational negotiation in good faith. So call and write your congresscritters and make 'em do something useful - increase funding for SPS. Your grandchildren will thank you for it. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:16:00 PM | Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Interesting Graphics A series of maps in the New York Times shows a breakdown of major political donors to both major candidates in Manhattan, LA and Washington, DC. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:29:00 PM | It's nice to know they're on the job The US Senate, having solved all other problems (including war, disease, racism, hunger, homophobia, crime, halitosis, jock itch, syphilis, drug abuse and obesity, among others), voted yesterday 99 to 1 to increase fines for so-called "indecency" on the public airways. The amendment was tacked onto a defense appropriation bill, and only one senator, John Breaux (D, LA) voted against it. It's nice to know those goobers are out there earning the money we pay them, isn't it? Here's my proposal: We eliminate all fines for so-called "indecency" and teach every man, woman and child in America to use these things called "goddamn channel-changing buttons" and "the motherfucking off switch" to deal with things they find offensive. While we're at it, we can line up 99 senators (and Michael Powell, James Dobson, and all the other narrow-minded busybodies) and smack each one of 'em upside the head with a clue-by-four, and charge 'em each $1000 for the lesson. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:45:00 AM | Tuesday, June 22, 2004
So when, exactly, will justice be done? I've written before about the Gwen Araujo murder case - here and here. For those too lazy to reread the history on this tragic case, here's the basics: Gwen Araujo was a transexual - that is, born male, but identified as a woman and lived her life thusly. When Jose Merel found out that Gwen was biologically male after having sex with her, he, Michael Magidson, Jaron Nabors and Jason Cazares beat Gwen, clubbed her with a skillet, strangled her and buried her corpse in the El Dorado National Forest on October 4th, 2002. Nabors pled guilty to manslaughter charges in return for testimony against the other three, who tried to use the ever-reprehensible "When I found out I'd touched a queer, I freaked out, 'cause I don't want Gay Cooties" defense. Today, we learned that the Jury deadlocked on first degree murder charges against the three, and the judge has declared a mistrial. No word as yet on when (or if) there will be another trial for the murdering scumbags. Dammit. Damn, damn, damn. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:47:00 PM | The Gods Smile Upon Me I'm gonna get to participate in a market research focus group about beer. Yes, I will be PAID in CASH to drink BEER. I don't know what I did right in my life to earn this, but I'm not complaining. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:04:00 PM | Texas Tuesday spotlight on candidates Charles Kuffner of Texas Tuesdays has a list of Democratic candidates for the Lege that need support - either volunteers or cash. Look it over, see if you can help, mm-K? posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:23:00 AM | Monday, June 21, 2004
Sweet, sweet linky-love A few new additions to the blogroll to mention: BIG RED BLOG - A classy, witty lady from Boston. Comments From Left Field - A lefty blog from Pittsburgh. Good stuff! Off the Kuff - Charles Kuffner's blog, recommended to me by Julie. A good Texan lefty blog. The incisive Mr. Kuffner also turned me on to Texas Tuesdays, a group blog focusing on Texas politics, the best spectator sport in the world. So fly, my pretties! Click the links! Visit, read, learn! Do it, or I come to your house and drink all your beer, light your mattress on fire and pee in your sink. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:50:00 PM | For those lukewarm Kerry folks out there Scott Turow tells Amy Tan why we should vote for Kerry. Dear Friends: If you are receiving this and are an ardent Bush supporter, I apologize. Please ignore the rest of this email. We both know I won't change your mind, and you won't change mine. However, if you feel we may need a different President for the next four years, I hope you will find the following useful. Like many of you, my stance on the elections has been basically "anyone but Bush." When John Kerry evolved as the Democratic candidate for President, he became my choice as well. I found, however, I was not as passionate about Kerry as I was passionate about simply getting rid of Bush. Yet I wanted to be a strong Kerry supporter. I wanted to know why I would choose Kerry beyond partisan politics, why we needed someone exactly like him given the fact that our country has never before suffered such a rapid loss in our civil rights, the environment, our educational systems, employment, health care, our economic health, our standing in the world, our ability to deal with terrorism without it escalating into a worse situation--in essence, the now fragile underpinnings of our future, in which any one of those troublesome situations could undo us, let alone a multitude of them. So what makes John Kerry particularly well-suited for the Presidency and these times? I asked a friend who might know better than I. Scott Turow, consummate writer, Chicago lawyer, a smart guy, a sensible man with a conscience, who stays up to date with the issues that face our country. Scott emailed me a quick response. And it was so articulate and concise, so well informed and true, that I wanted to share it with my friends. I have reprinted it below, I encourage you to send it to your friends and family, and encourage them to send it to their friends. I especially hope you will send it those who are undecided or have not yet bothered to register. Please also consider making a special effort to reach people in "battleground" states, for example, the Midwest, Colorado, and Florida, and find the biggest issue that affect them personally, be it health care, education, stem cell research, or the security of our nation. Be able to articulate specifically why Kerry addresses their best interests. Herewith some remarks you can say about the overall qualifications of John Kerry.... Scott Turow’s remarks on John Kerry and why he is the right person to be President: I could say the following without blushing: He is running against a man who was not fit for duty in 1968 and is not fit for duty today, a man who lacked the qualifications for the office when he was elected and has demonstrated it. We have been through a skein of national disasters, for which he accepts no blame, because he literally doesn’t understand enough about the job to realize how a better President would have responded. John Kerry has been in public life for 35 years.. He was a prosecutor when GWB was running an oil company into the ground. And he was already a seasoned United States Senator when GWB decided it was time to give up abusing substances. JK has a sharper grasp of foreign policy, and more experience with it, than any candidate for President in the last 50 years, with the possible exception of GHWB (see today’s NYT). His dedication to the cause of our military and veterans is long established. And his commitment to economic and social justice for all Americans cannot be doubted. A man can’t be the committed liberal Bush sometimes maintains Kerry is, and also the unprincipled waffler. Life and public service are complicated, as GWB doesn’t understand. JK does. He has a sense of nuance, and the experience and values to improve the life of the country. _______________ Please feel free to circulate this letter to whomever you wish to reach. Let's help reach the 10% of undecided voters. Thanks, Amy Tan posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 3:18:00 PM | Interesting Spider-Man News Marvel Comics has licensed an Indian version of Spider-Man. The art, at least, looks interesting: Here's hoping the writing comes up to the same standard. I might want to get my hands on a couple of issues, if the opportunity arose. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:13:00 AM | Dancing with them what brung you The Republicans have been the primary beneficiaries of the largesse of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon for some time - his "newspaper", the Washington Times, has consistently and blatantly skewed its reporting in favor of the enemies of democracy, and was one of the prime movers of the witch hunt against the Clintons. It's been a money-losing proposition in and of itself, but Moon bankrolls it because it encourages the Republicans to overlook things like tax evasion, criminal conspiracy and the like and instead focus on his bigoted, fascistic/theocratic fetishes (which, by and large, the Rethugs share). Back in March, Rev. Moon held a coronation cermony in the Dirksen Senate Office Building - that's government property, mind you - that was attended by at least 12 congresscritters and possibly as many as 81 (if you believe the Moonies, which I don't). One Representative, Danny K. Davis (D-Ill), carried Moon's crown. Moon, who preaches that homosexuals are "dung-eating dogs" and that Jews deserved the Holocaust because they killed Jesus, claims that he will unite all religions behind his divinely-granted power and wisdom, and hopes to throw out the US Constitution and rule a theocratic state. Did I mention that he posthumously converted Adolf Hitler and Stalin, and they say he's an OK dude? No, I'm not making that up. So why are so many congresscritters paying attention to Moon? Because he's got money, and he knows the Rethuglicans (and the right-leaning Democrats) will take money from whoever gives it to them. Because they're lower than crack whores, who at least have the tenuous excuse of being hooked on cheap drugs for their career choices. The Rethuglicans are all freaked out because George Soros is spending money to help defeat The Simp Chimp, yet oddly enough, they don't care that they're taking it in every hole from a bigoted, criminal whackjob of a nutcase that has clearly stated his desire to turn our nation into something the fuckin' Taliban would find too restrictive. So let's hear it for letting religions get involved in politics. That always turns out so well. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:54:00 AM | Sunday, June 20, 2004
More fun with CafePress Changed a few things around in my CafePress store, which I've been rather lazy about promoting. F'rinstance, I've added a bargain of a shirt at $10. It proudly tells anyone that can read to "Shut yer pie hole". Pop over, take a look, blow some money. I've priced everything as cheap as possible - EVERYTHING MUST GO, I'VE GOTTA BE CRAZY TO PRICE THINGS THIS LOW!!!!! posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:43:00 PM | Fathers' Day Got to sleep in a little, and got a book on giant squid as well as the latest of Laurie King's Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell novels. Now if I can just get an undisturbed nap in today, I might have the energy tonight to bag and back the last couple months' worth of comics. Up to three boxes, not counting trades & graphic novels. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:19:00 PM | Saturday, June 19, 2004
Tell me again why we should listen to the RCC as a moral authority? I mean, ever since Pius' tacit support for the Nazis in WWII, the Roman Catholic Church has been at best ambiguous. The American church's support for child-abusing priests pretty much blew a hole the size of Jabba the Hutt into the remaining shreds of moral authority, and I think the church has sunk even lower now that the Dallas Morning News has uncovered a worldwide rotation of pedophile priests to prevent their being arrested. Time and time again, priests were moved when complaints against them grew too many, and the victims' families were assured the priests were not working with children. And, of course, the church lied. Listening to Brooks Edgerton, one of the DMN's team of reporters, on NPR yesterday, I heard some shit that had me screaming in rage as I drove to work. Personally, I'm beginning to think the control of all RCC assets should be turned over to the individual parishes. After richly compensating all their victims, of course. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:17:00 AM | Friday, June 18, 2004
Orrin Hatch, hypocrite We knew that already, of course. This time, he's blocking efforts by the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena Justice Department documents discussing the misAdministrations apparently carefully-laid plans to torture prisoners. This is the same Orrin Hatch that had no problems whatsoever with giving Ken Starr free reign to waste $40,000,000 digging up dirt on President Clinton's blowjob. Hatch said of attempts by Democratic senators to issue a subpoena, [it's a] "dumb-ass thing to do" and a "fishing expedition . . . to make a political point". Er, no, Mr. Hatch. Get your head out of your ass and pay attention, because next time I repeat it using a clue-by-four: The Bush Administration planned to circumvent long-standing international treaties and, in violation of US and international law (not to mention common sense and human decency - commodities that are, admittedly, in short supply with that crew) torture and humiliate any prisoners they could get their hands on in the hope that one of them might have some information they could use. This illegal activity was purportedly justified by a series of memos, one of which has already been released to the press (and is the same one Attorney General Asscrotch refused to provide to the committee on the same day the memo was published). We'll need those documents when we impeach Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft and the rest of those sorry assbags and, if there's a trace of justice in this world, throw their asses into a maximum security punch-you-in-the-ass penitentiary for the rest of their miserable, festering lives. Come to think of it, Mr. Hatch, aren't you aiding and abetting them? Maybe we can get you in there, too. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:56:00 AM | Friday Five I've always hated the proverb "Practice makes perfect," especially if uttered when I'm desperately trying to do something that's just not coming out right. I just don't care how true it is, I want things to happen NOW! What are the proverbs that make most impact in your life; the ones you use the most, the ones people keep saying to you, the ones that strike to you as the greatest wisdoms or wildest inaccuracies, or simply the ones you loathe above others? - from Laura (1) "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." - George S. Patton was a good strategist and tactician, and damn good at driving his men. IMO, the best tank commander of WWII, followed closely by Montgomery. This statement of his rings true outside of the battlefield, as I've found that... (2) "Fortune favors the bold." Most of the time, it doesn't matter if you're more qualified, better looking or smarter - what matters is having the balls to jump at an opportunity. Sometimes, you'll fall down, but you'll succeed just as often. Don't think I'm all about rash action, though, as I also think it's important to... (3) "Measure twice, cut once." Learned this doing carpentry, and it's 100% true - evaluate your options, check your plans, cover all your bases, then go for it. If you don't make sure of yourself, you might be in a situation where you... (4) "Marry in haste, repent at leisure." It's much the same thing - it's all too easy to put yourself in a situation where a rash decision haunts you for the rest of your life. I do want to make it clear, of course, that this adage, while true in a metaphorical sense, does not apply to my marriage, as I've found that it is most definitely not true that... (5) "Familiarity breeds contempt." In the short run, yes - there's a period in any relationship in which the heady excitement of a new relationship has worn down, and for the first time, one notices all the little tics and bad habits and annoying tones that had previously been glossed over. After that, however, there's a more profound respect that can develop based upon knowledge of those exact same features. It's a more mature, nuanced relationship that takes into account both the positive and the negative. That's true in marriage, friendship, business and long-distance carriers. The other Friday Fivers are, as always, listed to the left. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:01:00 AM | Thursday, June 17, 2004
| Rummy The Dummy ordered a prisoner hidden from the Red Cross Brad DeLong has a good summation of this incident, and states "Once Again, the Bush Administration Is Worse Than I Had Imagined". I'm reminded of the quote by J. B. S. Haldane - "Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we CAN suppose." I'm beginning to think the Bush Administration is worse than we can imagine. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 3:15:00 PM | Terry Jones on torture For some time now, I've been trying to find out where my son goes after choir practice. He simply refuses to tell me. He says it's no business of mine where he goes after choir practice and it's a free country. The man speak da trut', he do. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:25:00 PM | Opps My apologies for the intrusion of the Friday Five on today's blog - I wrote it up early and mistakenly posted it instead of saving it as a draft. That error has been corrected and those responsible have been punished. With lots and lots of spankings. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:50:00 AM | Whacknoodles of the week Christian Exodus This group intends to move thousands of "Christians" into the state of South Carolina and, through control of the legislature, secede from the United States and form a "Christian Nation". Why? (Besides the obvious "tertiary syphilis" explanation, of course) Because (verbatim from their site): # Abortion continues against the wishes of many States # Sodomite marriage is now legal in Massachusetts (and coming soon to a neighborhood near you) # Children who pray in public schools are subject to prosecution # Our schools continue to teach the discredited theory of Darwinian evolution # The Bible is still not welcome in schools except under unconstitutional FEDERAL guidelines # The 10 Commandments remain banned from public display # Sodomy is now legal AND celebrated as "diversity" rather than condemned as perversion # Preaching Christianity will soon be outlawed as "hate speech" Point by point, let's look at their claims: Abortion: Yes, it is legal, because, despite the wishes of (a usually slim majority in) some legislative assemblies, the US Supreme Court has consistently determined that there is a Constitutional basis for women to have access to this medical procedure. Sodomite marriage: As a matter of fact, sodomites already can get married. Oral and anal sex are sodomy, dipshits, and a majority of Americans think they're A-OK. Now, if you're speaking of same-sex marriage, we can only hope that other states see the light. Prayer in schools: Er, no. Children are free to pray in school. They're not free, however, to coerce other children to pray in school. Evolution: Actually, it's "Creation Science" that's discredited. The theory of Evolution has stood up to rigorous scientific scrutiny for over 100 years. The Bible in schools: Oh, dearie me! How DARE that pesky Federal Government enfore a strict separation between church and state! Why, next they'll be freeing the slaves, giving women the vote and taxing our income! 10 Commandments displays: No, they can still be displayed, just not on government land, or paid for with government money. I can just imagine the shrieks if some community decided to put passages from the Bagavad-Gita or the Quran up on public display - you guys would shit blue streaks a mile long! You get worked up enough when someone teaches Yoga or Tae Kwan Do at a community center! Sodomy: Yes, it's legal, and I say HOORAY! You say disgusting, I say DELIGHTFUL! Consenting adults, privacy and all that, wot? Preaching Christianity: Outlawed? As "hate speech"? What the fuck are you morons going on about? Please, get a life. Why do they want South Carolina? Our board of directors considers the values of this state to be very similar to the values held by our membership. Translation: "There's a lot of inbred, bigoted cracker yokels in South Carolina, which means we'll at worst be at about the median intelligence." Additionally, South Carolina possesses a rich history of standing up for her rights. Translation: "South Carolina has a proud history of keeping them darkies in their places. Just ask Strom Thurmond, or Bob Jones!" Their plan is to move folks in 1000 at a time, take over legislative districts and elect their own candidates to the State Lege and congress, then petition to secede. They claim they don't advocate violence, but so does David Duke. I'm tempted to say, "Let 'em have it," and sit back and enjoy the show of them fucking everything up. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:59:00 AM | Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Panther Moderns, here I come! Japanese inventor makes "invisible" cloak. Professor Tachi's cloak works by projecting an image onto itself of what is behind the wearer. A computer generates the image that is projected, so the viewer effectively sees "through" the cloak. Anyone else remember the Panther Moderns from Neuromancer? Someone let me know when I can get some cybereyes, wired reflexes and a polymer muscle boost, as well as some oh-so-sweet designer stims. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 3:28:00 PM | More Monkey Mayhem! Baboons terrorize South African town. Residents of a small South African coastal town are threatening to declare all-out war on baboons who have terrorised pre-schoolers, raided homes for food and urinated on clothes after pulling them out of closets. Diana Head, the chairwoman of the local taxpayers’ association in Pringle Bay, an hour’s drive east of Cape Town, told AFP that baboons broke into the local nursery school - located in a church - three times, using the same method. “The baboons lifted a window latch and stormed a church hall where the children were,” she said. “They grabbed sandwiches and cold drinks out of the children’s hands. “The kids were traumatised afterwards. One teacher was so upset that she resigned.” Head said baboons were breaking into houses about 15 times a month on average. Obviously, this is a test of future terror tactics by Our Future Monkey Overlords. Resistance is futile! OOK! OOOOOK! Tip o' the hat to Ray for the heads-up posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:41:00 AM | Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Spiffy! For the next 4 months, you can blame me for some of the employment data released by the government. A very nice gentleman from the Census Bureau came by today and quizzed us on our job status. I was warned at the start of the interview that the questioner could not make inferences, and was required by law to enter any answer I gave. Despite a strong urge to do so, I did not present myself as a 103 year old Eskimo from Slovakia. Nor did I list my occupation as "Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico". posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 5:19:00 PM | Whatcha doing the 2nd weekend in August? I'll be running some games at ArmadilloCon 26 here in Austin. I'll have Munchkin, Illuminati and Chez Geek, plus I plan to run a GURPS adventure - one of my signature WWII/Supers crossovers. The gaming schedule isn't up yet, but as the con gets closer, I'll post relevant information. I've never been able to make it to 'Dillo Con before this, but I'm looking forward to it - several friends have been or are currently active in organizing it, and it's got a good history. It's primarily a literary con, and there's always a good complement of Austin and Central Texas writers there. So mark your calendar and plan to come! I'll have some Spiffy Goodies to give away to game-players, and my GURPS games are always loads of fun. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:51:00 AM | Enemies of the State This article in Salon should give all of you chills and rage. Under the Visa Waiver Program, travelers from 21 countries (among them such pestholes as the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Andorra and Monaco) are not required to procure a visa prior to entering the United States. A little-known and completely unenforced provision of this law was that, and I quote, "Representatives of the foreign press, radio, film, journalists or other information media, engaging in that vocation while in the U.S., require a nonimmigrant Media (I) visa cannot travel to the U.S. on the visa waiver program and cannot travel using a visitor visa, seeking admission by the DHS immigration inspector, at the U.S. at the port of entry" Which means that journalists are not allowed in without getting a visa prior to coming here. Unlike tourists or businessmen. Journalists are, upon arrival in the US, being detained, denied entry, interrogated, shackled and then deported. Land of the Free my hairy white ass. Elena Lappin has a story to tell about her experience. She was interrogated, subjected to a humiliating, abusive search of her luggage and, shortly thereafter, a body search. Then she got hauled through the airport shackled between a couple of Makes you proud to be an American, don't it? What, exactly, can a journalist do to kill us? Nothing. Journalists should, if our respect for our Constitution means a single goddamn thing, be sacrosanct. Fer chrissakes, during the Cold War we treated Soviet journalists better than this, and a fair percentage of them WERE SPIES. Call your congressman, write your senator and tell them to amend the Visa Waiver Program to allow journalists the same access to the United States their countrymen enjoy. Fight the fascists, before it's too late. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:00:00 AM | Looking for a new weird thing on the web? Check this out. Requires sound, should be SFW unless Pikachu shit is verboten. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:33:00 AM | Monday, June 14, 2004
| Long may that star spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave I love our national anthem. Some folks call it overdone, some call it too warlike, but I like it a lot. I'm a sentimentalist, doncha know. What I don't like, though, is pissant cowards trying to pull some proto-brownshirt bullshit. Here's the asic rundown: Lori Haigh owned an art gallery in San Francisco. It's been her lifelong dream, and she was enjoying every part of it. On May 16, that all changed. During a monthlong showing of art by Guy Colwell, a black and white painting depicting several American servicemen administering electric shock torture to an Arab prisoner was placed on display. That's a painting, mind you. Odds are it was much less disturbing than the photos of the torture that have been displayed n every TV channel and newspaper in America. Two days later, Haigh found the sidewalk in front of her gallery littered with broken glass, eggs and garbage. Hate-filled emails, voice mails and letters began arriving, most of them death threats. About a week later, a man walked into the gallery and spat in Haigh's face. At the end of May, she decided to temporarily close the gallery and began to reconsider her dream. Two days after that, a man walked into the gallery and punched her in the face. This attack knocked her out and left her with a broken nose and a concussion. The mother of two has since closed her gallery and put paid to her lifelong dream, all because there are some subhuman goons in America that can't tolerate the thought of people disagreeing with their narrow-minded, small-penis-compensating worldview. It's happening all over, and most folks in America are closing their eyes. "It can't happen here," they think. Bullshit on that. It can happen here, and it will, if we let it. It's already happening in some places. If you think the brownshirts are gonna stop with interrupting election recounts in Florida, shutting down a gallery and torching muslim-owned businesses, you're wrong. They won't stop until they've killed every bit of dissent. That's what happened in Germany, in Italy, in the Soviet Union, in Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia.... There's a frightful amount of ugly shit out there, and it's hard to resist the temptation to just not look at it. I'd be thrilled to live in a world where I didn't have to notice homeless beggars, abused children, Serbian rape-camps, Tutsi gangs hacking Hutu children to death with machetes, Palestinian suicide bombers, Israeli missile attacks on refugee camps, US soldiers torturing innocent men and women, crazed jihadis hacking the heads off American civilians, gay men being beaten and left dangling on barbed wire and the continuing career of David Hasselhoff. I'd love that, but it ain't gonna happen. You've got to keep your eyes open, you've got to be willing to make a stand. By closing your eyes and wishing the bad things will go away, you're becoming part of the problem. If the thugs think no one's looking, they get bolder. If they see you staring them down, they'll scuttle away to hide back under their rock. I'm as guilty as everyone else - there are times I've looked at the front page of the newspaper and tsked over the sad state of the world, then turned the page and not given it a second thought. It happens, it's part and parcel of being human. We've still got to ask ourselves every day, "Am I doing everything I could reasonably be expected to do?" We're all going to fall short of the ideal, but we've got to try. Tip o' the hat to Phaedrus for the original linkage. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 2:13:00 PM | Good Christian? Yeah, right. And I'm the fuckin' Pope Outrage of the day: a faux "Abortion Counseling" service fucked over a bunch of women in the New Orleans area. How? Well, the women, all low-income (of course) called the Causeway Center for Women thinking they were contacting Causeway Medical Clinic to schedule abortions. Instead, they were given dates for their procedure that were then rescheduled again and again until it was too late for the women to get abortions, which meant they had to carry the babies to term. Several women did not get prenatal care because they believed they would be getting abortions, putting them and the baby William Graham claims to care about at risk. Another fuckin' right-wing scumbag. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:41:00 PM | Sunday, June 13, 2004
Call Me Chuffed Picked up a book I've been seeking for a while yesterday - Ward Moore's classic alternate history Bring the Jubilee. Bring the Jubilee presents the story of a young man born in a United States after the War of Soutron Independence. The United States is a second-rate power, a pawn used by the Confederacy and the French and Spanish empires. It's got zeppelins, too. woot! posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:41:00 AM | Saturday, June 12, 2004
Chalk up another victim to the spectre of Gay Marriage! Rush Limbaugh seeks divorce. 3rd marriage for each of 'em, and now a divorce. Yep, I see how hard it is to remain happily married when posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:20:00 AM | Friday, June 11, 2004
Could Piggy Rove be losing it? Not his tenuous grasp on reality - that's been gone ever since he lost his soul in pledging service to Nyarlathotep. I'm talking about the political acumen that made him the bogeyman that Democrats scared new candidates with - "If you're not careful, Karl Rove'll run your opponent's campaign, and then you'll be DOOMED!". Looks like Republicans are getting pissed off over Bush campaign's ads using the words and images of Ronald Reagan. “They’re disgusting,” says one long-time Republican who participated in a focus group to preview the new television ads. “They dishonor the memory of Ronald Reagan and if President Bush allows these ads on the air I, for one, will not vote for him in November.” Hee! One proposed ad even goes so far as to show Reagan saying “George, go out and win one for the Gipper.” The clip comes from Reagan’s speech to the 1988 Republican National Convention where the former President’s request was to Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, in his successful 1988 run for President. Haw! One longtime GOP consultant told Rove he was a “goddamned idiot” for even considering putting the ads on the air. BWAH-HA-HA-HA! “Ronald Reagan has achieved god-like status among conservative Republicans and you don’t mess with his memory,” he says. “If they are smart they will pull the plug on the campaign and order the ads destroyed. Unfortunately, the Bush campaign has not yet impressed us with its intelligence.” This one had me laughing so hard I spit Diet Coke on my monitor. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:41:00 AM | Yeah, my anger management issues seem rather trivial now, don't they? I know I'm a few days behind the rest of the blogosphere in commenting on this, but deal with it. I'm sure you've all heard now about the Colorado man that armored up a bulldozer and went on a slow rampage through his home town. Seems he was pissed off about the construction of a concrete plant next door to his muffler shop, and when the City Council didn't come through for him and a petition drive bore no fruit, he devoted the next 18 months to modifying the 50+ ton bulldozer with two layers of 1" steel plate and concrete, a .50 caliber rifle, video cameras and monitors, air conditioning and, possibly, a kick-ass sound system. I've been pissed off at folks (no surprise to anyone), but even I draw the line at this much work. Still, I wouldn't mind having a bulldozer like it. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:31:00 AM | First, some funny Ganked from Laura  French Guard I'm French! Why do think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king-a?! What Monty Python Character are you? brought to you by Quizilla posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:23:00 AM | Friday 5 Gord wonders: Did you know? Most of us have a list of funny little facts in our heads that we relish knowing. We sometimes tell them to other people, or put them in essays or posts in our blogs. Some people even make up "facts" and tell them to other people with a smug sense of "you didn't know that, did you?" What are your five favorite little-known facts? (And are they true, or made up?) Little-known facts? Erm. (1) Possums almost never get rabies. It's true - they can get it, but they're less likely to have rabies than any other mammal. (2) Armadillos can get leprosy. Plus, when they're startled, they jump straight up 2-3 feet in the air, which is why so many of 'em get squished by cars. (3) There are 3 types of comedy when it's reduced to its most basic elements: (a) Guys hitting each other with things. (b) Dudes dressed up like women (specifically, Milton Berle/Carmen Miranda. Trust me on this one) (c) Monkeys dressed up like people. I realized this fact one night as I watched a Marx Brothers movie, then about 6 hours of The Three Stooges. I was very, very drunk on good tequila and quite possibly hallucinating, so I know that The Gods revealed something important to me. (4) ALL THINGS HAPPEN IN FIVES, OR ARE DIVISIBLE BY OR ARE MULTIPLES OF FIVE, OR ARE SOMEHOW DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY APPROPRIATE TO 5. It's from the Principia Discordia, and the more I look, the more it's true. Hail Eris! fnord (5) Over 30,000 people came to the funeral of Emperor Joshua Norton I. I honor Emperor Norton more than any other leader of the United States because he was (a) crazy as a hyperactive fruitbat on a 3-day caffeine bender and (b) able to get everyone else to go along with him. The rest of the Fivers are located, as always, to the left. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:01:00 AM | Thursday, June 10, 2004
| Why it's important to understand the difference between movies and reality Future Darwin candidate jumps out of window with umbrella. It seems he was afraid his microwave was about to explode, so rather than, oh, I don't know, run out the fucking door, he grabbed an umbrella and imitated Mary Poppins. Hospitalarity ensued. Gravity is a harsh mistress. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:22:00 AM | Wednesday, June 09, 2004
More Darwin Handicaps Milwaukee woman accidentally douses self in lighter fluid, burns to death. Seems the woman was having an argument with her boyfriend and tried to douse him in lighter fluid and light him on fire, but somehow managed to do herself in. In the process, she burned down the house, and 8 people are now homeless. Her boyfriend suffered minor injuries. So I'm thinking she'll get 3-2 odds, with Jinnah the Balcony Diver at 2-1 and Kaiser the A Sploder at 3-1. While we're on the topic of death, any bets at the the next two in the trifecta after King Ronald? posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:31:00 PM | New link I've added a new webcomic to my recommended reading list further down on the left side - Something Positive. It's not entirely safe for work, just so you know, but it is so funny you'll be spewing whatever you're drinking from both nostrils and possibly the ears ('specially if you've got a hole in your eardrum like me). posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:15:00 AM | Tuesday, June 08, 2004
So I ask you: are you better off today than you were 4 years ago? Let's say, just for shits and grins, that you make $30,000 a year. If your employer is like mine, there haven't been any pay raises of note since the year 2000. In the year 2000, you made $30 grand, which is enough to squeak by and maybe set a little aside. In 2003, that same $30K was worth (depending upon the economic indicator you measure against) anywhere from $26,800 to $28,300 - averaging all the different figures gives you $27,540. So in the last 4 years, you've effectively had almost $2500 stolen from you by Bushonomics. I got these figures at Economic History Resources after seeing the link on Brad De Long's journal. And it looks like no one below CEO will be getting a raise this year, either. On the bright side, all those rich folks are no longer paying taxes on their dividends, which means they'll have more money to spend on all the finer things in life. How're you liking the New Feudalism? posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 3:24:00 PM | More Rethuglican Sleaze Because I'm feelin' like I'm on some kind of mean-spirited, bile-spewing roll so far this week, I'd like to bring to your attention an article from the NYT which documents Rethuglican efforts to make it legal for churches to pass out political campaign literature. NYT, try "salon/tabletalk" as login/password Republicans in the House of Representatives have quietly introduced a measure to make it easier for churches to support political candidates, just days after the Bush campaign came under fire from liberal groups for inviting church members to distribute campaign information at their houses of worship. Representative Bill Thomas of California, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, added the measure to a much larger bill, introduced in the committee on Friday, that centers on revising certain corporate taxes. The provision, called Safe Harbor for Churches, would allow religious organizations a limited number of violations of the existing rules against political endorsements without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. So, basically, The Simp Chimp and the Religious Reich Nutjobs want to make it possible for churches, which already enjoy a balmy tax-free existence no matter what they do (fleece retirees of their savings, brainwash addle-brained movie stars, bugger children and cover it up or any of dozens of other ethically dubious activities), to actively participate in political campaigns. My, my, my. Ain't that just the sweetest little thing? If the churches want to be involved in politics, they better sweet-ass be ready for politics to be involved with them. I, for one, can't wait. Gonna trump up some charges on some $cientologists and send their asses to Gitmo for starters, I think. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:25:00 AM | Monday, June 07, 2004
Not everyone is as enchanted with The Gipper as Faux News would have you believe... Killer, coward, Con Man: Greg Palast writes: In 1987, I found myself stuck in a crappy little town in Nicaragua named Chaguitillo. The people were kind enough, though hungry, except for one surly young man. His wife had just died of tuberculosis. People don't die of TB if they get some antibiotics. But Ronald Reagan, big hearted guy that he was, had put a lock-down embargo on medicine to Nicaragua because he didn't like the government that the people there had elected. Ronnie grinned and cracked jokes while the young woman's lungs filled up and she stopped breathing. Reagan flashed that B-movie grin while they buried the mother of three. David Corn, meanwhile, wrote back in 1998 66 things to Think About When Flying Into Reagan National Airport: Getting cozy with Argentine fascist generals, tax credits for segregated schools, disinformation campaigns, "homeless by choice," Manuel Noriega, falling wages, the HUD scandal, air raids on Libya, "constructive engagement" with apartheid South Africa, United States Information Agency blacklists of liberal speakers, attacks on OSHA and workplace safety, the invasion of Grenada, assassination manuals, Nancy's astrologer. I'm going to have to suffer through at least a week of RonniePorn on all available news channels, so i'll be going back to those for a dose of relaity on a regular basis. Hope you guys enjoy 'em as well. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:53:00 PM |
and...  You are EVERETT ULYSSES McGILL! You know that no matter how straight you get with the Lord, the state of Mississippi's a little more hard-nosed. But no matter what kind of tight scrapes you get in, you're still the goddamn paterfamilias. What Coen Brothers character are you? brought to you by Quizilla Ganked from Julie posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 5:14:00 PM | Poll Results 21 votes total. The Simp Chimp 38% Dumbya 19% Dim Son 14% The Smirking Chimp 10% The Deserter 10% The pResident 10% A new poll will be on the left sidebar soon. Vote early, vote often. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:05:00 PM | OMFG, this guy is a goddam NUTJOB Vernon Robinson - the black Jesse Helms. I am pro-Constitution, pro-national sovereignty, pro-military, pro-veteran, pro-growth, pro-business, pro-property rights, pro-marriage, pro-adoption, pro-farmer, pro-school choice, pro-states' rights, pro-religious freedom, pro-Pledge of Allegiance, pro-death penalty, pro-gun, and pro-life. How can you be pro-life AND pro-death penalty? That seems rather inconsistent to me. I find a black man advocating a pro-states' rights position to be rather sickening, considering the fact the "states' rights" is one of the most blatantly bigoted code phrases used by the right. I will secure our borders and demand the vigorous enforcement of our immigration laws. I support market-based reforms of government entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. "I'm a tool, I don't really understand the first thing about any of this, but I saw this shit on freerepublic.com, and it looked kewl." I am unabashedly and unalterably opposed to racial quotas, "I got mine, bitch - you're fucked." special rights for homosexuals, "I want all them damn queers in camps where they belong, but I don't want to come out and say it." the United Nations, "I want to destroy every single legacy of FDR that I can, especially the ones that mean we have to at least pretend to play by the same rules as civilized nations." the proliferation of frivolous lawsuits, "Like the ones that force companies to treat their workers well, or punish corporations for putting out untested products that jeopardize the health and safety of American citizens." women in combat, "Like Newt Gingrich, I believe that women get a 'disease' every month or so, and besides, the menfolks gotta pertekt the wimmins. It's in the BIII-BULLLL." pork barrel spending, "Unless it's in my district, or something that's gonna make me look like I wanna 'git tuff' on crime. Or kill Ay-rabs." useless government programs and agencies, onerous regulations, and all tax hikes. "Except for the programs and regulations that keep women in their place, gays as second-class citizens, and prevent Americans from seeing dirty pictures, because sex, especially the free discussion of it, is baaaaaad." Jebus, where does the right dig up whackaloons like this? Dude makes Lyndon LaRouche look sane, ferchrissakes. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:05:00 AM | More Darwin handicapping Iowa man dies making fireworks at home. While I appreciate frugality as much as the next man, Byron Kaiser of George, IA perhaps took it a little too far. He was mixing the ingredients for some fireworks (which appeared to be half-dollar diameter 3-inch tube, estimated to be about 10 times as powerful as an M80) in his home and the mixture ignited, blowing off both his hands and killing him in short order. I know several people who have the knowledge and ability to mix gunpowder, sulfur chlorate and phosphorous in their living rooms, and a few of them I would actually trust to do it, and that's only because they know better than to MIX IT IN A METAL CAN WITH A METAL SPOON. For them as don't play with things that go boom, that's pretty much a guarantee that you're going to die in a messy explosion. Metal + metal + explosives = DEATH. Everyone got that? OK. So I'm putting Kaiser in at about 3-1 odds for claiming the Darwin for 2004 (his odds would be higher, but he had already reproduced). Any relatives or friends of Kaiser that object to this post, BTW, can go climb their fucking thumbs. I'm already sick of the friends of Ameer Jinnah hassling me (Mr. Jinnah, BTW, is running at about 2-1 for the award this year). posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:38:00 AM | Sunday, June 06, 2004
Nice lazy morning Melissa and Fran went to church this morning, leaving me and the boykids at home. Drew's watching cartoons and Alec's taking a morning nap, and I just made myself a Really Good Sammich. Homemade buttermilk bread, sliced about 3/4" thick Boar's Head Oven-Roasted chicken (sliced at the deli between settings 2 & 3) Blackwax cheddar, sliced a shade under setting #1 Vidalia onions, sauteed in butter Vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced about 1/8" thick Dill pickles sliced lengthwise about 1/8' thick Sweet hot mustard Toast the bread and cheese lightly, add chicken (about 1/2" thick) followed by the onions and tomatoes, then a slice of pickle for the top. Squeeze out about 1 Tb of mustard and enjoy. I likes me a good sammich, and the dog didn't get a chance at it this time. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:30:00 AM | Saturday, June 05, 2004
Well, exit Sluggo Ronald Reagan is dead. While I was never an admirer of the man - I thought he was a crappy president (though not as godawful as Bush) - I wouldn't wish Alzheimer's on anyone. How long before the Freeper Loons start agitating for Ronnie to get put on the dime and/or Mount Rushmmore? posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:27:00 PM | Friday, June 04, 2004
| To be taken with a grain of salt... Word is, Capital Hill Blue is not always reliable, but still, I wouldn't be surprised to find this story was true. Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides In meetings with top aides and administration officials, the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as “enemies of the state.” Smells like Nixon to me. In interviews with a number of White House staffers who were willing to talk off the record, a picture of an administration under siege has emerged, led by a man who declares his decisions to be “God’s will” and then tells aides to “fuck over” anyone they consider to be an opponent of the administration. “We’re at war, there’s no doubt about it. What I don’t know anymore is just who the enemy might be,” says one troubled White House aide. “We seem to spend more time trying to destroy John Kerry than al Qaeda and our enemies list just keeps growing and growing.” Yep. “The mood here is that we’re under siege, there’s no doubt about it,” says one troubled aide who admits he is looking for work elsewhere. “In this administration, you don’t have to wear a turban or speak Farsi to be an enemy of the United States. All you have to do is disagree with the President.” This is sooooo stable. No, really. Let's re-elect him, shall we? I want a foaming nutjob with his finger on the button. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:08:00 AM | Friday 5 Roganda wants to know: What 5 non-sexual, physical(tactile) sensations do you enjoy most? This one's kind of easy - no philosophizin' required. (1) Swimming. There's something inherently delightful about being submerged in water, in the buoyancy and the feeling of the water slipping past you as you swim. (2) Warm flannel. It's soft, but not that icky-feeling too soft of, say, cotton balls. On a cold night, it's even better. (3) Cool, freshly laundered sheets. On a hot night, it's nice to feel a high thread count cotton weave under you on the bed. (4) Getting my back scratched. Nothing beats having someone chase little itches around your back, and those wooden or plastic back scratchers just don't measure up. (5) Good massage. Feeling the tension get worked out of your muscles - almost as good as sex. ALmost. The rest of the Friday Fivers are, as always, listed to the left. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:47:00 AM | Thursday, June 03, 2004
Yeah, right. The Simp Chimp'll take good care of the soldiers. Ganked from Phaedrus. War on the cheap In the days of fighting their way to Baghdad, Davis' and Lee's battalion, honored by the Reserve Officers' Association as the nation's finest Reserve infantry unit, found they were short on ammunition, hand grenades, signal devices, chemical weapon detectors and heavy guns. The Marines had to share night vision goggles and body armor. They ended up stripping needed equipment from wounded and injured comrades. They had no spare parts to repair weapons, radios, trucks or Humvees. Until the end of the fighting, they didn't even have spare tires. Because they did not have a satellite radio, their headquarters frequently lost contact with higher command -- contact necessary for learning the evolving war strategy and in calling for airstrikes, artillery or medical evacuation helicopters. [snippage] For a whole week, the Marines were down to a single daily Meals Ready to Eat field ration. Normally, they ate three MREs a day. The Marines were so famished from hauling around more than 100 pounds of personal gear and digging foxholes that they begged food from passing Army combat engineers. The engineers tossed them extra MREs. Still, Marines picked through trash piles, looking for portions the Army troops hadn't eaten. They usually found dehydrated cream and sugar packets intact. They gulped down the contents dry or mixed them with water for a concoction of calories and protein. "We acted like Iraqi children," said Lance Cpl. Brent Bower of Salt Lake City. "We were hungry." Finally, headquarters told the company to eat its humanitarian foodstuffs, which had been held in reserve for the Iraqis. As Phaedrus comments, there's worse in there. It makes me want to throttle someone to think that the Simp Chimp and Rummy the Dummy sent American soldiers off to battle without even giving them the equipment they needed to fight effectively. It's a testament to the abilities of our Marines that they did so well, but it's criminal that they were forced to do without proper equipment. Gawdamighty, it'd be sweet if the Simp Chimp had to go to punch-you-in-the-ass penitentiary. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:53:00 PM | Visitor 20,000 Arrived today at exactly 6PM. The winner of the contest is That Colored Fella, who guessed 5/28/04 at 9:00 PM, a difference of approximately 5.88 days. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:07:00 PM | This is how the world ends? Fire and Ice Some say the world will end fire Some say in ice From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those that favour fire But if it had to perish twice I think that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice Robert Frost had an interesting take on it, but the folks at Exit Mundi have been kind enough to detail all the possible ways the world could end, from the chillingly likely (giant meteor) to the ridiculous (everything on Earth becomes "strange" matter due to some kind of quantum change). Lots of fun, but not for those easily made twitchy. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:59:00 PM | What did he know, and when did he know it? Isn't that what we asked about Richard Nixon? Well, looks like The Simp Chimp is covering some familiar territory. We found out late yesterday that The Simp Chimp hired a private lawyer to help out with the Valerie Plame Federal Grand Jury Investigation, and today we find out why - witnesses have told the Grand Jury that The Simp Chimp knew what was going on. So, we have a sitting president that approved the release of the identity of an undercover government agent. Smells like treason to me. I vote we throw his ass in a Federal Punch-You-In-The-Ass Penitentiary for life. Dare to dream, right? posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:01:00 AM | Wednesday, June 02, 2004
BWAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Crawford, TX mayor supports Kerry. Crawford may be the heart of Bush country, but the town's mayor says John Kerry is the best choice for president. "I don't see where I'm better off than I was four years ago," Robert Campbell said Tuesday. "I don't see where the city is any better off." The Kerry campaign recently listed Campbell as one of 100 black mayors around the country - seven of them Texans - who support the Massachusetts senator over President Bush. But the campaign has not focused particular attention on the endorsement. Not even in his own backyard is the Simp Chimp getting votes. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:17:00 AM | No work today I'm taking the day off to go to the lake with the family. Expect me to return sunburned and exhausted. In the meantime, here's some cheerful news: The FBI is investigating who in the U.S. government leaked information to former Iraqi exile Ahmad Chalabi that made its way into the hands of the Iranian government. Meanwhile, the Valerie Plame Grand Jury continues. Worst. President. EVER. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:09:00 AM | Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Start handicapping now for the 2004 Darwin Awards! Get your scorecards out, folks, and make some notes - we've got two strong contenders, and the year's not even half over. First up, we have the Lehi, UT man that tried to use gasoline to get a charcoal grill going. He got 3rd degree burns over much of his body, but is expected to recover. Second, there's the Missouri man that went looking for his keys in a lake with an anchor around his waist and a garden hose to breathe through. He refused medical treatment after being revived lakeside. Yep, both men lived, but there's still time left in the year for them to do something else. Right now, my money's on #2, but place your bets now! posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:56:00 PM | Paul Krugman on Dooh Nibor Economic Warfare Last week The Washington Post got hold of an Office of Management and Budget memo that directed federal agencies to prepare for post-election cuts in programs that George Bush has been touting on the campaign trail. These include nutrition for women, infants and children; Head Start; and homeland security. The numbers match those on a computer printout leaked earlier this year — one that administration officials claimed did not reflect policy. NYT - registration required, or just use salon/tabletalk to log in. Krugman details how The Simp Chimp is shakin' his little moneymaker for the fatcats, which comes as a surprise only to the terminally blockheaded. The middle class is gonna get screwed, folks, because some folks are dumb enough to believe that cutting taxes and deficit spending will result in more money. Come to think of it, I might try that with my creditors - tell 'em that if they give me more money, I'll work less and then, miraculously, I'll have more income, and my grandchildren'll pay 'em back. My grandchildren might not be too happy about that, but maybe they could occupy a neighbor's house on the pretext that they've got WMD and plunder it for cash. On a more positive note, the Damn Smart Brad DeLong does some thinking about Kerry's health care proposal, and points out why it's a Good Idea. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:17:00 AM | |
