Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

In case you've been wondering, I've taken on a new hobby -- tweaking the local Libertarian crowd, mostly at the blog of my good friend, the Whited Sepulchre . While I don't always (or even often) agree, the debate is lively and intelligent. In fact, some of my best writing these days is at his site, not mine (irony of ironies). The other day, I accorded the distinct honor of being the token Democrat guest blogger while the Whited Sepulchre was on vacation. For the most part the local Libertarian crowd are an intelligent, thoughtful bunch, passionate about their cause and ready to talk, sort of like political Jehovah's Witnesses. While not agreeing with them, I admire their commitment to the cause. One thing I've noted on various occasions is their hang-up with my icon. "As your hero, Trotsky..." they'll begin, as they spin some long drawn-out rant property rights. (By the way, this is Trotsky . As I've pointed out numerous times, any resemblance i...

Lawrence Lessig , one of my heroes, has an essay at Newsweek.com on why we should shut down the Federal Communications Commision. While this sounds a lot like something some of my loopy Libertarian friends would preach, I have a lot of respect for Lessig so I'm willing to reserve judgment -- for now. His main contention is that the FCC enables monopolies (bad) which stifle innovation. In its place, he proposes: Congress should create something we could call the Innovation Environment Protection Agency (iEPA), charged with a simple founding mission: "minimal intervention to maximize innovation." The iEPA's core purpose would be to protect innovation from its two historical enemies—excessive government favors, and excessive private monopoly power. Lessig has been mentioned as a possible head of the FCC ; he's known Obama since the two of them taught together at the University of Chicago. In the past Lessig has been a big proponent of net neutrality and has also w...

This is a follow up to my previous post, To my Libertarian friends , in which I laid out some of my thoughts and criticisms of the Libertarian Party, which includes amongst its numbers several friends and associates. To sum up (so you don't have to be bored twice) I have a lot of respect for Libertarians (they tend to be extremely bright, intellectually curious people) but I don't necessarily agree with all of their positions. On economic issues, their faith in the Invisible Hand of the Free Market strikes me as a bit like believing in Intelligent Design. Their take on civil rights, workplace regulations, and some other areas strike me as naive at best. Where they have my full agreement is in the area of personal freedoms. God bless 'em. To pull a few quotes from the 2008 National Libertarian Party platform: We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes" without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes. Recognizing that aborti...

Mike Huckabee (see earlier post with Jon Stewart) got me to thinking about the gay marriage thing again, and I think I see a way to accommodate all parties. It's very simple, really. Get government out of the business of marriage. If the state doesn't recognize gay marriage, it shouldn't recognize any marriage. Instead, let civil government only regulate civil unions , available to all, regardless of sexual orientation. Civil unions are currently legal arrangements that sets guidelines for the legal aspects of a registered relationship: controling inheritance rights, sharing of job and healthcare benefits and the like. Property rights: the purview of the government. Churches or other religious bodies would be the gatekeeper of the religious ceremony that celebrates the spiritual side of relationships. And any church could do it: First Baptist of Dallas or the Cathedral of Hope . Since it is not a civil ceremony, the government would have no interest in who and why, or for...

Having a hard time wrapping your head around the sub-prime mortgage crisis and how mortgage-backed securities work? Scott Adams explains in today's Dilbert.

As funny as he is, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show is often at his best when he stops being funny. Here he is, earlier this week, debating Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on gay marriage. This was an amazing exchange. I don't think I have ever heard the case put forth for gay marriage rights any better. If I had it in my power, I would have given him an Emmy right there on the spot. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M - Th 11p / 10c Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

There is an assault on the freedom of ideas these days. The weapons on this assault are copyright laws and the murky idea of "intellectual property," Rich powerful corporations hiding behind familiar and friendly names are leading this assault. It pains me to say, this unsavory alliance cuts across political lines: Democrats and Republicans are both guilty. A little history: " copyright " is the right of a creator of an original work to control distribution for a certain time period, after which it falls into the "public domain." The Copyright Clause of the United States Constitution (1787) authorized copyright legislation: "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The founding fathers set the term to be 27 years. The idea was that the author was protected during the period of the copyright against unauthorized co...

Thanksgiving has nudged out Christmas as my favorite holiday. Maybe it has something to do with the Christmas displays appearing in stores before Halloween. Just to make it a Triple Colbert week, here's the cast of the Colbert Christmas Special singing Elvis Costello's (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding -- that's Elvis in the bear suit. I can't think of a better holiday message. The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c A Colbert Christmas: Peace, Love and Understanding Colbert at Christmas Colbert Christmas DVD Green Screen Bill O'Reilly Interview

If you've not seen the Stephen Colbert Christmas Special yet (shown on Comedy Central) you owe it to yourself to catch it next time it's shown. Or pony up $19.99 and buy the DVD (a portion of the proceeds benefit Feeding America ). Brilliantly cynical and cheery all at the same time. Here's a preview! The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c A Colbert Christmas: Another Christmas Song Colbert at Christmas Colbert Christmas DVD Green Screen Bill O'Reilly Interview

This is probably going to be my last political screed for a while, which affects only the 2 or 3 people who actually read this drivel. But before I drift into discussing things like technology and the folly of everyday life, I wanted to offer up a few final thoughts on the 2008 election. Amongst my friends and associates of various political persuasions are several Libertarians: all extremely bright, intellectually curious people who are passionately interested in politics. I have a lot of respect for them. I don't necessarily agree with them. Here's why. There is a broad range of political beliefs that fall under the designation of " Libertarianism ," all of which (to perhaps over-simplify) focus on the elevation of individual liberties and negate the power of the state. To restate: they believe in social freedom and economic freedom without interference and regulation from the government. Sounds good, no? The problem is, this ignores the reason all that regulation a...

I'm a little late in linking to this, but here is Dave Barry's plan for national unity. Martinis . I did my bit: after the networks called the election for Obama, I made a round of martinis and brought them to my down-hearted Republican neighbors next door. "Celebrate or anesthesize: your choice," I said. We all relaxed as Obama gave his acceptance speech, sipping the sweet waters of forgetfulness and munching on olives. The future seemed to brighten even as our eyes lost the ability to focus. Postscript: going home afterwards, I entered the kitchen and tripped over the cat, launching the empty glasses into the air where they shattered in the darkness.

The election of Barack Obama has already jump-started one part of the economy: gun sales . Wild-eyed gun enthusiasts -- fearing the worst, have been busily adding to their personal arsenals since Election Day, according to the Dallas Morning News . Should gasoline prices spike upwards again this will give them something to pawn next time they need to fill up their pickups.

It's after 1:oo AM and the election coverage is dying down. Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America. A little while ago, John McCain gave his concession speech. It was generous and classy -- the kind of speech the "old" McCain used to give. Ironically, it may have been the best speech he gave this campaign. The man's no fool -- in his heart of hearts he must have seen the writing on the wall weeks ago. Surely he's glad it's over. Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago's Grant Park reminded us of why so many were inspired by his campaign. Rather than being triumphant, it was inclusive. It never avoided the fact that there are daunting issues to confront, and indeed he made the point we will all need to work together as a nation to solve them. At times, he evoked Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech but now the dream was for all Americans: black, white, brown, old, young, gay or straight. (---After a good ni...

I was going to write one of my whining, witless screeds and happened to read the following by Andrew Sullivan: Obama for President . It is one of the most rational and chilling indictments of the criminal administration about to pass that I have run across. Sullivan leads by recounting the horror of the 9-11 attacks seven years ago and then makes the case that a far more insidious, damaging attack on our nation has taken place at the hands of George W. Bush and his cronies: their cynical disregard of the rule of law and contempt for the constitution. The biggest task Obama faces (should he win) will be to restore the unequalled damage to our nation and institutions done by the hands of the Bush, Cheney, et. al. It's recognition of this Katrina scale devastation that has caused so many thoughtful Republicans and conservatives to come out for Obama. Read the article -- then go vote if you have not already.

Let's take a break from the mind-numbing election cycle to note the passing of a giant. Louis "Studs" Terkel was classic progressive-liberal whose career stretched from the New Deal to the eve of one of the most historic elections in our nation's life. He passed away peacefully at home on Halloween, after taking a fall earlier in the month. Born in New York to Jewish immigrant parents, his family moved to Chicago when he was 8. After getting a law degree from the University of Chicago, he worked for the WPA writing and performing on radio. Though best known now for his oral histories (a format he pioneered) of ordinary people in such books as " Division Street: America ," " Working ," " The Good War " (for which he won a Pulitzer prize), and " Coming of Age ," during the 1940's and 50's he starred in "Stud's Place," an unscripted TV show produced in Chicago. His politics made him a target by the House Un-Am...

I voted yesterday. The 2008 election is now a little more than a week away. Usually I like to wait for election day, because I like the sense of civic camaraderie that comes from standing in line at the polling place. In Texas (and in more and more states), one can vote early without any reason. Across the country, many of my fellow citizens have also voted early, hoping to avoid getting caught in what could be a record high turnout. As is my habit, I did not choose the straight party option, although I always end up voting for all the Democrats who run. This year I did vote for one (unopposed) Republican judge who used to be a Democrat, and some Libertarian judge running against a Republican with no Democratic opposition. I've been watch the polling figures on RealClearPolitics and keeping my fingers crossed. Things look good, but a lot can change in a week. That's another way early voting has changed elections -- it's lessened the effect of last minute surprises that ca...

One of my wife's guilty junk TV pleasures is TLC's What Not To Wear , in which our hosts Stacy and Clinton pick some poor fashion loser (nominated by the loser's friends/family) and give them a makeover: new hairdo, makeup and $5,000 worth of clothes. It's reality television at its finest. A plucky individual remakes themselves in the image of What's Hot and along the way sheds a few tears, gains some insight, and ditches all their old crappy stuff on someone else's nickel. How can it miss? The McCain campaign has picked up on this heart-warming concept. The Republican National Committee has spent $150,000 on Sarah Palin's wardrobe in the last two months, outfitting the Hockey Mom You Can Trust in threads from Neiman-Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue . Tell me -- are those stores in Real America or Fake America ? When ungenerous commentators questioned this campaign largess, McCain flacks were quick to say Sarah's outfits would be donated to charity at some...

I watched the final debate tonight, thankful it was the last. Tonight instead of PBS, I happened to watch it on CNN where they again had a group of "undecided" voters with the instant polling gizmos. The men seemed to prefer McCain, the ladies liked Obama. Gimmicky but moderately interesting to watch. McCain came out with a roar but sort of petered out. Perhaps it was past his bed time. Obama did his usual slow and measured performance -- no fireworks but he made no discernible mistakes. Alas, my friend the Whited Sepulchre had not the time or will to liveblog it, but he did record his impressions after the fact. After a while I found myself sick of hearing about Joe the Plumber. I'm not sure Senator McCain served his campaign well by marrying himself to the image of a plumber's crack, since after the third mention that's what came to my mind every time he pulled ol' Joe out of his rhetorical rucksack.

A photo that reveals more about the Republican Base than anything I could possibly say. Thanks to the Washington Post .

One of the interesting things to have happened as McCain slowly sheds supporters is that we have an opportunity to get a better look at the Republican Base, since everyone else is slowly creeping out of the tent. Thanks to the Embarracuda, the Base still flock to the rallies, where they scream "Terrorist!" and "Kill him" at the mention of Obama. The Base: Jesus lovin', God-fearin', flag-wavin', red-meat-eatin', gun-totin', cousin-marryin', anyone-different-than-them-hatin'. Oh they are something. Primarily intolerant and mean-spirited. John McCain has finally found his sense of shame, at least for the moment, and has tried to cool some of the more foaming-at-the mouth rhetoric of his supporters recently, and was booed by his own crowd . It remains to be seen how long the new civility lasts. The base doesn't really like McCain. Now Sarah Palin...that's another matter. Rumor has it the Powers That Be are already grooming her for 20...

This just in... To quote the New York Times : " A 236-page report released by lawmakers in Alaska on Friday, found that Ms. Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, had herself exerted pressure to get Trooper Michael Wooten dismissed, as well as allowed her husband and subordinates to press for his firing, as a result of a messy divorce between him and Ms. Palin’s sister. " Whoops! RealClearPolitics now has the Electoral College count at: Obama/Biden: 353 McCain/Palin: 185 I'm beginning to wonder just how much worst it can get for John McCain?

Watching McCain's descent into the cesspool in the dying days of his campaign, I am reminded of an old, tasteless joke: An old Scotsman drinking in a bar says to the young man sitting beside him, "Look out to the field. Do ya see that fence? I built it stone by stone with me own two hands. Piled it for months. But do they call me McGregor-the-Fence-Builder? Nooo.." He pats the bar. "See how smooth and just this bar is, laddy? I planed that wood with me own hard labour, for eight days. But do they call me McGregor-the-Bar-Builder? Nooo..." He points to the sea. "Do ya see that pier that stretches as far as the eye can see? I built that pier with the sweat off me back. I nailed it board by board. But do they call me McGregor-the-Pier-Builder? Nooo..." "But ya fuck one goat..." John McCain has had a long and honorable career, earning him a great deal of deserved respect. Now that his quest to be president is tanking, he's chosen to cast asid...

John -- Just a quick note. The stock market fell ( plummeted, shreeked, plunged earthward with nausea-inducing abandon ) another 678 points yesterday. It's now below 9000 points. The financial markets are in near collapse. My 401k is worth 40% of what it was in January . And what do I hear you and the Embarracuda talking about: Bill Ayers, and whether Barack Obama is trustworthy about their "relationship." WHAT THE FUCK? Do we really know Barack Obama, you ask. This is rich coming from a campaign that refuses to give the media access to their running mate and won't let her appear in public without adult supervision. The biggest economic crisis in my lifetime and you, Senator McCain, are busily flinging turds.

Joe Klein over at Time magazine has done us a great service -- he's coined the ultimate nickname: Embarracuda . See? I don't even need to tell you who he's referring to. You know . Thanks to Mr. Klein, I shall henceforth adopt this term in all my references to Sarah Palin. His article by the same name peels away the perky exterior and casts a flinty eye at what he refers to as McCain's insult to your intelligence. As to her recent crack about Obama "palling around with terrorists," he points out the irony, given the fact that she's married to a member of a political party that wants Alaska to secede from the lower 48. Huh? He also contrasts her statement about Obama's former paster, Jeremiah Wright ("I don’t know why that association isn’t discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said.") with the fact that she sat through (not getting up and leaving) a sermon by the founder of Jews for Jesus who, as Klein rep...

Here we are less than a month from the 2008 election. You thought things were nasty before? Get ready--the shit's really going to start flying now. Despite his pledges to the contrary, McCain signaled early on he was more than willing to wade into the cesspool. Remember the stink over the "Celeb" ad? That was the tip of the iceberg. There's plenty more. Obama, to his credit, responded quickly and vigorously to these, having learned the lesson from John Kerry that unanswered attacks only encourage more of the same. McCain thought he'd run this election using the Bush "National Security" playbook ("the Surge worked," etc.), but a funny thing happened on the way to the polls: Wall Street had a meltdown. And it is a truism in politics that the economy trumps almost everything. Senator McCain has admitted in the past that economic issues are not his long suit. With the US teetering on the brink of a recession, suddenly voters are noticing McCain...

If there is any upside to financial meltdown of the last weeks or so, it is that we, the voting public, have been given a welcome respite from all things Sarah Palin. Tomorrow is the vice-presidential debates, which will probably not change any substantial number of votes, but has the potential for the guilty pleasure at watching someone make a fool of themselves. If Sarah's recent performances are any indicator, the evening promises much comic fodder. Tina Fey may actually look more presidential. Her handlers have been shielding her from any contact with a discerning public, with the not overly surprising effect that even her lukewarm supporters have begun to grow bored with her. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to see her fade back in to obscurity, her brief moment of notoriety reduced to little more than a footnote in the history books and a few random subpoenas.

I was in a meeting this afternoon and the chief source of conversation quickly degenerated into a discussion of the vertigo-inducing free fall of the financial markets which was in progress. The DJIA ended the day down 777 points. Our company stock fell 15% today . It's now lost 2/3rds of its value for the year. Lots of nervous jokes and pale faces in the meeting. Candidate McCain quickly blamed Obama for not pulling along enough votes to get the bailout recovery plan to pass. This was after he failed to drag along more than 40% of the Republicans. Bush now expects the Democrats to carry his water? Why in God's name would anyone expect that to happen? Despite the brainwarp this induces, 60% of the Democrats did vote to pass it. The fact that 60% of the GOP legislators decided to give both Bush and McCain the bird on this does not bode well for the Senator from Arizona. It probably doesn't bode well for the GOP up for election this year, either. Meanwhile my 401k looks a...

Of all the third party candidates in recent years, I have decided Bob Barr is my favorite. Third party candidates over the years have fulfilled many roles. Some have served to espouse unpopular ideas, some have provided an outlet for voter irritation or protest, some have provided much needed comic relief. Eugene Debs and Robert La Follette both pushed progressive agendas at the turn of the 19th century. Strom Thurmond ran as a "Dixiecrat" to protest the Civil Rights Act in 1948 and in 1968 former governor George Wallace, feeding off racial strife, polled 13.5% of the popular vote and won 45 electoral votes (primarily southern states). I confess I voted in 2000 for John Anderson, who ran against Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan as an independent. Ross Perot was a screeching wacko who may have cost Bush the elder the 1992 election and Ralph Nader is a cranky egomaniac that may have cost Al Gore the 2000. Bob Barr , in the few times I've caught him on Stephen Colbert ha...

When I went in and checked the value of my 401K today, after the market dropped over 500 points (the biggest one day drop since September 11, 2001). I saw that it is now worth half what it was at the start of the year. Jeebus frogging Cripes! It's not that I'm highly leveraged or optioned, or invested in any number of highly suspect derivative securities. We are now watching what happens to an economy that has had 8 years of Republican deregulation. Hel- lo ? There's a reason stuff is regulated: it's to protect financial markets from greedy fucks like the jokers running Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch. Get rid of the regs and sooner or later you get the predicatable result we see today (and a couple of weeks ago with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac): a bunch of hotdogs with MBAs out attempting to game the system. Works great until it stops working. Then...whoops. And of course the real villains will walk away, their purses still bulging and fat, looking for the next opportuni...

Apparently I'm not the only one who's picked up on the fact that John McCain is a lying bastard: even Republicans have noticed. Orrin Hatch has decried as "ridiculous" the McCain claim that Obama was referring to the Right's Favorite Hockey Mom when he used the phrase "lipstick on a pig." Says Don Sipple, a Republican advertising strategist, "I think the predominance of liberty taken with truth and the facts has been more McCain than Obama." Oh my. FactCheck.org has repeatedly called out the McCain campaign for playing fast and loose (or not at all) with the truth, including the bullshit " lipstick on a pig story ," their claim Obama proposed sex education to kindergarteners (the proposal was actually how to protect against predators), and Sarah Palin's run-ins with reality . To quote the New York Times : A McCain spokesman, Brian Rogers, said the campaign had evidence for all its claims. "We stand fully by everything that...

So now John McCain is full of righteous outrage over what he has announced were "offensive and disgraceful" remarks about Sarah "Pitbull" Palin by Barack Obama. The disgraceful quote? Said Obama, on McCain and Bush's policies: "You can put lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It’s still going to stink after eight years." Oh puh-leeze. The "lipstick on a pig" quip has been used by Republicans, including John McCain, referring to Hillary Clinton's health care proposals (see clip below). I don't seem to recall a great eruption of rage over perceived sexism then. In fact, Hillary was regularly excoriated by the GOP. Calling her a pig would have seemed mild. And so the Republicans and their designated slimemeisters carry on that twin tradition of the Big Lie and the Dirty Trick, The Big Lie: say something so brazenly untrue that people assume no one could make up something that un...

Well, I guess it's official: Sarah "the Barracuda" Palin, having been anointed last night as McCain's vice-presidential running mate, is now Red State America's sweetheart. Five minutes was about all I could take of her last night. The Daily Show had an amazing send up of her huffing and puffing supporters, proving once again they have what is arguably the best research team around anywhere. I can't improve on this -- watch it and ask why CNN and the networks have such piss-poor news teams in comparison.

John McCain is having a rough go of things lately. I mean the guy can't catch a break. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost. First Hurricane Gustav forced a hasty scaling back of the Republican festivities in St. Paul, Minnesota. Then Hurricane Sarah created another storm. Governor Palin probably looked good on paper as the McCain team sketched out strategies in some dark room. But in harsh glare of reality, his decision looks rash and poorly thought out. He can't help but be having buyer's remorse right about now. His choice seems to be a naked attempt to appeal to disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters. Except Sarah Palin is no Hillary. Who thought this fundamentalist right winger would appeal to Clinton's constituency? While she may shore up McCain's soft support amongst the Conservative Christian right, Palin will serve only to alarm moderate voters once they get a closer look. In addition, she brings several liabilities: an abuse of power investigation over all...

Elitism : The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources (from the FreeDictionary ) Mr. B, one of my fellow Post-Ralphaelites (yes, there is more than one of us) stopped by the house the other day and our conversation turned to the current political campaign. Said he, "I don't get why people consider Barack Obama an elitist. He came from a single parent family and put himself through college." What makes someone an elitist, anyway? Social status? Barack Obama : a young man from a broken family (his father and mother split up when he was 2) who lived with his grandparents until he graduated from high school. John Sidney McCain III : third generation navy, whose father and grandfather were 4-star U.S Navy admirals. Net worth? Barack Obama : $ 1.4 million (most of it from royalties on his writing) John McCain : $ 40.3 million...

Are you an unemployed spook? Polish up your resume. I don't know what part of my search criteria kicked this out, but Monster.com thought the following might be something I'd be interested in (warning: it may be delisted before you read it). DynCorp International , which bills itself as a "Global Integration Solutions" provider (i.e. another corporate-run mercenary outfit like Blackwater ), is looking to fill the following position in Baghdad. Senior Human Intelligence Advisor Duty Description: Assigned as senior intelligence advisor on matters concerning human Intelligence and counter-terrorism matters. Provides advise on collection, intelligence analysis, and investigations related to terrorists groups, insurgency, criminal activities, and related threats to include subversion, sabotage, and espionage threats . Knowledgeable on matters pertaining to criminal intelligence including organized crime, financial tracking and kidnapping for profit. Mentors and assists th...

Say you are an organization with a certain...let's say...political agenda. And there are a number of organizations who oppose, vigorously oppose , your agenda. Wouldn't it be useful to have a person on your payroll, a spy , in the upper echelons, maybe even on the board, of these opposing groups? Does it sound like some Cold War tale? Commies on the school board? Fellow Travelers in the State Department? Mary Lou Sapone, a "research consultant" ( oh yeah! ) for a "private security firm," has been spying on gun-control organizations at the behest of the National Rifle Association. For decades . Private Security Firm : a company offering services normally associated with the police or military. Blackwater is a private security firm. You know, mercenaries . The NRA likes to put forth the simple-minded fiction that it is just a group of good Americans standing up for their rights. Their actions suggest otherwise. It's been my experience in life that peop...

The other day I did something really stupid: I trusted Microsoft. The youngest son asked me if I could help him change which was the boot drive on his fancy gaming box (I won't get into the ugly particulars of this project). He's pretty smart, but I'm the Alpha Geek in the house. My mistake: I didn't do my research before sitting down at the keyboard. While at the XP Recovery Console, I ran a command called "FIXBOOT." It sounded like what I wanted to do, and indeed subsequent cursory research suggested that was the right command. But when I rebooted (without the old C: drive) I got " NTLDR is missing. Press CTR+ALT+DEL to restart. " The hair on the back of my neck now being to rise, I told Youngest Son to put the old C: drive back in and then reboot. Several attempts later, I get into Safe Mode and try and look at the drive I'd been working on. Bad Mojo -- screwy filenames, missing stuff, wrong size partition. Oh my. By now I've figured ou...

It's truly pathetic watching John McCain decide to start rolling around in the mud, even before either he or Barak Obama officially is nominated, because he does it so badly. George W. Bush's team had Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove running things. Rove was the Prince of Fucking Darkness, and his ads were evil and effective. The man will roast in hell, but he was good at what he did (in the same way that Joseph Goebbels was good at what he did). I gather McCain has a bunch of his old golf buddies running things, given the general lack of competence so far displayed. Of all the McCain commercials I've seen, so far not a one has anything to say about John McCain. Is that because he has nothing to say? One of the most recent is worthy of mention: Celebrity (the so-called "Britney-Paris" ad), in which flashes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are followed by Obama, surrounded by enthusiastic crowds. The female voice over says "He's the biggest celebri...

Jonah Goldberg's recent essay, " A Losing Salute ," puzzled me at first. Why would Goldberg, National Review Editor at Large, and author of Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning , bother to write a long whiny essay about Tommie Smith and John Carlos's black power salute at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City? Surely the upcoming Beijing Olympics couldn't have triggered any remembered outrage, since Goldberg wasn't born until the next year. Says Mr. Goldberg: ...this was 1968, not 1938. By the end of the 1960s, America had seen two decades of steady — if too slow — racial progress. The black-power vision of an irredeemably “racist Amerikkka” was all but blind to the desegregation of the military, the accomplishments of Owens and Robinson, and the civil-rights acts of 1957, 1960, 1964 and even 1968. This smug little prick seems to have overlooked the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Ke...

The Dallas Fire Department got a call today around 5 AM about a report of a man on fire on a utility pole. When they got there they found several cut copper wires on the ground and the man, his clothing in tatters and burned away from his body, atop the utility pole's power transformer. During what police speculate was an attempted copper wire theft, the victim grabbed the wrong wire and got 7,620 volts for his trouble. The force of the shock caused his skin to adhere to the metal transformer. Rescuers had to cut or peel him away before they could get him down. In addition to receiving third degree burns over 50% of his body, the would-be thief faces third degree felony charges, If he lives long enough. While I am full of the milk of human kindness, it is hard to work up a lot of sympathy in cases like this. With the rise in the price of copper in the US and elsewhere, copper theft has become a real problem in the last few years. Thieves will ruin $500,000 worth of equipment or p...

While Barak Obama addressed an audience in Berlin, presumptive GOP presidential candidate John McCain (stuck in Ohio) churlishly said: "I'd love to give a speech in Germany ... a political speech or a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in, but I'd much prefer to do it as president of the United States rather than as a candidate for the office of presidency." Senator McCain, I'd love to buy you a drink, but I'd much prefer to do that as a Powerball winner...and I think we both have about as much chance of getting our wishes. I suppose we can look forward to similarly asinine statements in the months ahead.

My limoncello experiment has moved into its second phase: after soaking the lemon zest in 100 proof vodka for around 50 days (longer than I intended, but probably a Good Thing as far as the batch goes), I added the simple syrup, which I made by dissolving 4 cups of sugar in 4 cups of boiling water. After it cooled to room temperature, I added it to the zest slurry and poured in the 2nd fifth of vodka. After adding all this I have what looks to be an impress amount of limoncello in the offing. It comes almost to the shoulder of the 1 gallon pickle jar all this is soaking in. The next step, which I'll do around the 2nd week of August, is to strain out the zest and bottle up the concoction. I'm now in the process of collecting appropriately designed bottles. My preference is those stoppered bottles that have the rubber gasket and the wire frame that locks it shut. I've got a couple I collected that originally contained fancy lemonade and imported beer. I'll probably break ...

Youngest son is currently in Hawaii with the church youth choir. He returns at the crack o' dawn Wednesday. He's the one who's now a better guitar player than me. That milestone hurt more than his being taller, stronger and smarter than me. I got a trio of text messages from him this evening. The first said, "Dude, I want a ukelele." The second, sent an hour later, said, "I got one. It's a baritone." The third, send approximately five hours later, said, "I can already play Over the Rainbow." I will miss the randomness of life around here when we have an empty nest.

You know that part in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four where the television sets watch you? In a way, we've managed to arrive at that point without people realizing it. Let me explain. With the advent of cheap, affordable broadband, an increasing portion of the population has turned to the internet for entertainment as well as information. Many people don't subscribe to a newspaper: they get their news online. We stream video, download music, search for recipes, post to our blogs, look up stuff on Wikipedia, search on keywords -- you get the picture. On a lot of sites that provide these services, we set up accounts, so our preferences can be remembered (and sold to the people buying those ads sprinkled across the page). Every request we make, every link we click, keyword we search, is stored somewhere--if only as an entry in a server log file. The logs keep a record of the request, along with the time/date and IP address of the requester (that's you, my friend). Th...