Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

Perhaps you went to look up something on Wikipedia today, or Google, or any of a number of other sites, only to find them dark. "What the hell is SOPA?" you may be asking. What the hell indeed. SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act (HR3261); PIPA is its lesser known bastard sibling: Protect Intellectual Property Act. Both were drafted at the behest of the Big Media cartels who own the rights to most movies, audio recordings, television shows, and print media. Note I did not say they created these things: they merely own the "rights" to them (whatever that means). Because their business model is broken, they've decided to break the Internet. In it's original form, SOPA criminalizes certain web technologies, whether there are legitimate uses or not. It allow the Justice Department to order the takedown of websites, without any type of due process, and make sites criminally liable for user-created content. A Big Company, irked by a website criti...

This will shock some of my friends, but there was a time when I had little use for Edward Kennedy. His flaws were many and it seemed readily apparent that initially he rode on the coattails of his older brothers. Mike Royko, the Chicago columnist (known generally as a liberal), regularly heaped abuse on Teddy, and (like some others) sneeringly suggested if his name had been Edward Slabotnik instead of Kennedy, he'd never been elected. There's no doubt the Chappaquiddick incident guaranteed that he'd never be president. His abortive run against the floundering Jimmy Carter in 1980 was the proof of that. Perhaps the knowledge eventually lifted a burden from him, because he ultimately became the third-longest-serving senator in U.S. History. His career had its ups and downs (some of these fueled by Kennedy's drinking habits). His marriage to his second wife is credited by many with turning his messy personal life around. He was not the smartest of the Kennedy brot...

Arlen Specter , formerly Pennsylvania's oldest Republican Senator, is now Pennsylvania's newest Democratic Senator. A Democrat in his youth, he joined the Republicans in 1966, back when the phrase "moderate Republican" didn't seem like an oxymoron. At his press conference today, he stated he was, "at odds with the Republican philosophy," and declared himself a Democrat. Alas, as the GOP continues its slow slide towards foaming-at-the-mouth insanity, it has no use for moderates. In his last primary run, the Pennsylvania Republican establishment fielded a conservative opponent to run against Specter, claiming he wasn't conservative enough. This despite the fact he is held in high regard by the Pennsylvania voting population as a whole. Get ready for the flood of sneering, pontificating and general character assassination soon to be heading your way by Fox News and their appointed thugs.

Quick update on the Colbert/NASA naming battle. On tonight's Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert put it to NASA: two weeks and no announcement even thought he's the clear winner in NASA's online vote to name Node 3. Despite NASA's tight-lipped reaction to his victory, official support is beginning to surge. Traffic to posts on this site about the vote outcome has included more than a few hits from within NASA, indicating interest is running high within the agency itself. Congressman Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania has come out in support of Colbert, saying, "The people have spoken and Stephen Colbert won it fair and square. We insist on democracy in orbit." NASA, feeling the pressure, has implied its willingness to name Node 3's toilet after Colbert. No word yet on when America can expect an answer. The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Space Module: Colbert - Urine Recycling Room comedycentral.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Na...

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny day in Washington, DC. Today: cold and rainy. We got up and, after much diddling around, finally left the hotel in Fairfax to head back to DC. At the Metro Park and Ride, a "Lot Full"sign greeted us. After much testy negotiation, we drove around until we found Metro station with a Park and Ride lot. Back in DC (at last) we headed back to the Smithsonian Museum of American History and finished viewing the Price of Freedom: America at War , which examines how wars have shaped American culture and society, from the War of Independence to the present. The amazing thing about the Smithsonian is its astonishing collection of miscellaneous objects of enormous historic importance. Things like the coat Marion Anderson wore when she sang at the Lincoln Memorial, security badges worn by workers on the Manhattan Project, the Ruby Red slippers worn by Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz. On a less serious note, they had the triple portrait of Stephen Colbert s...