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March 10, 2008
Spitzer's Act of Congress
Say this for Eliot Spitzer's judgment: it's gratifying that NY may soon have the first legally blind governor in U.S. history. Give Spitzer the "bone"-headed at least one point for choosing David Paterson as his running mate.
Maybe something good will come of this. Besides 1001 wisecracks and "Love Gov"/"Eliot Mess" headlines.
Y'know, I don't have a water cooler here in my home-based workplace. So permit me to observe among the weirder ironies in all this: Spitzer is one of maybe 347 males in NY state ever to have learned that inducing a prostitute to cross state lines is a greater crime--a *federal felony*--than picking her up on the street corner.
And maybe the only one to discover that detail before getting arrested. (Granted, I'm just presuming that someone who has prosecuted two prostitution rings would have absorbed this....)
From the wisecracks: my wife's pal Bill Bragin observes that it's a shame that Spitzer couldn't stick to his campaign promises—the governor at least could have patronized a brothel from some economically depressed town upstate.
Barack Obama today you are a man! Er...I mean today you are a politician.
I just saw in Slate that Barack Obama has been sending a messenger to Canada to tell them (who he has to tell, Slate doesn't specify) that his whole Anti-NAFTA thing is just a show to impress the yokels in Ohio. Don't worry, he's really a free trader just like us. He just needs to say these things to get elected so that he can protect NAFTA.
It reminds me of LBJ sending messengers back to Houston to tell his financial backers that he didn't really believe in Civil Rights, that he only said these pro-civil rights things so that he could keep control of the Senate from the Northern Liberals and Republicans. Really he was a segregationist just like them. Really.
He has taken a page from the Master, while Clinton is sampling Walter Mondale.
Ishbareaders will remember the sleuthing work that Alex B. did in uncovering the Misleading Water Filter Comparison Chart, which ranks "Aquasana" as number one but hides the fact that it's sponsored by... Aquasana. There's been some back-and-forth between President of Sun Water Systems, maker of the Aquasana water filters, me, and various other folks who feel that Mr. Strand was not being above board.
Yesterday a satisfied Aquasana customer, "Miguel," posted here about his wonderful experience with Aquasana.. "After all, I wanted a water filter that would do the best job, not the one who I thought had the best marketing team," says "Miguel."
Curious, I looked up where "Miguel" was posting from. Hmmm -- his IP is 67.152.98.19 in Fort Worth, TX, home of... Sun Water Systems! And it's the same IP used earlier by.... Charles Strand, President of same!
Update: He wrote again, still claiming to be Miguel, and clearly not understanding what an IP address is. I've closed the thread, since I really have better things to do than argue with a sock puppet about water filtration marketing.
Here's the backstory. Compare and contrast with Mosh.
I've been mostly avoiding writing about politics, but I'll put it out here now: I'm pulling for Obama. (And not just because Scarlett Johansson tells me to -- or Caroline Kennedy.)
I'm pulling for him because he's inspirational. And I think in electoral politics today, it's all about turnout. Inspiring voters will increase turnout. You win the turnout game (in the right places), you win the election.
Now, I know that Hillary can be inspirational too. The problem is that she also inspires hatred, among many. I think (and this is of course without evidence) that she'll inspire as many people to turn out against her as she will for her. People love to hate Hillary. I'm sure the GOP would love to have her as the Democratic nominee.
Many people to whom I've advanced this argument have asked, "Isn't the country too racist to elect a black man?" Maybe yes. Maybe there's a reason there are so many lies being spread about Obama and so many people willing to believe them.
But then again, maybe not. (I mean, as Thudfactor points out, wouldn't John Edwards be the front-runner if this were the case?)
I haven't posted in a while, so it is unfortunate that my reappearance is to share with you the demise of our beloved Yankee Doodle. No, not the one with the macaroni. The famous lunch counter in New Haven, wedged between Tyco and a corner spot with a rotating assortment of proprietors. (It was a Wawa when I was a student, but has since been a swanky shoe store, inter alia.)
The Entire Wadministration Summed Up In One Painting
In an April 1995 memo, Bush invited his staff to come to his office to look at a painting. … The picture is a Western scene of a cowboy riding up a craggy hill, with two other riders following behind him. Bush told visitors—who often noted his resemblance to the rider in front—that it was called A Charge To Keep and that it was based on his favorite Methodist hymn of that title, written in the eighteenth century by Charles Wesley. As Bush noted in the memo, which he quoted in his autobiography of the same title: “I thought I would share with you a recent bit of Texas history which epitomizes our mission. When you come into my office, please take a look at the beautiful painting of a horseman determinedly charging up what appears to be a steep and rough trail. This is us. What adds complete life to the painting for me is the message of Charles Wesley that we serve One greater than ourselves.” Bush identified with the lead rider, whom he took to be a kind of Christian cowboy, an embodiment of indomitable vigor, courage, and moral clarity.
Only that is not the title, message, or meaning of the painting. The artist, W.H.D. Koerner, executed it to illustrate a Western short story entitled “The Slipper Tongue,” published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1916. The story is about a smooth-talking horse thief who is caught, and then escapes a lynch mob in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The illustration depicts the thief fleeing his captors. In the magazine, the illustration bears the caption: “Had His Start Been Fifteen Minutes Longer He Would Not Have Been Caught.”
At least for New Yorkers:
A great plan for Governors Island and the return of the 2nd Avenue Deli!
Merry Happy Xmas, Solstice, Kwanza, (Eid) al Adha, Boxing Day, and New Years!
San Francisco’s Mayor Proposes Fee on Sales of Sugary Soft Drinks
So the Mayor of San Fran wants to tax sugary soda. How do we feel about that? Kinda regressive. But city kids are getting fatter every year and that will put a strain on the health system of SF and the nation. But where will this slippery slope end? Taxing everything that CAN be bad for you if taken in large quantities? And if these drinks are so bad for kids why not just outlaw them? They have already banned them from some schools; why not pass a "no soda under 17" law? At least that way parents will control what their children drink.
Romney: President needs prayers of people of all faiths
This headline, from CNN.com, sums up the hypocrisy of Americans, politicians, and almost all religious people. Basically he said yesterday: I believe something, but don’t worry because what I believe doesn’t affect the way I behave. I will always act in accordance with your beliefs, whatever they are. ALL of you, regardless of what crazy thing you believe. Even if they contradict each other. Because deep down I know we all have the same core belief: we are religious only when it is convenient.
Naomi Wolf deplores lack of civic information among the young, blames the Left for making them cynical. Look, Ms. Wolf, I'm a big proponent of civic education and civic engagement. Wrote my college thesis on it and everything (for Dahl of all people, who I was lucky to have for a senior seminar.) But blaming the Left for making youth cynical about democracy is like blaming your mom for making you wary of strangers.
While I appreciate the drugs that are keeping my low-grade flu at bay, I do not need your "Cool Burst Caplets" that taste minty for the two seconds that they are in my mouth. Plus, they turn my tongue blue.
Like Hansel and Gretel hoping to follow their bread crumbs out of the forest, the FBI sifted through customer data collected by San Francisco-area grocery stores in 2005 and 2006, hoping that sales records of Middle Eastern food would lead to Iranian terrorists.
The idea was that a spike in, say, falafel sales, combined with other data, would lead to Iranian secret agents in the south San Francisco-San Jose area.
"We have left Halloween to the ghouls and demons for far too long. It is time we give it to the economists, and let them fix it once and for all."
"It's not the dead that concern me about Halloween. And it is not the impact of all that sugar on the weight of our kids. No, it's the dead-weight loss, or pointless lost utility of the entire enterprise. That likely has a dollar value that exceeds $1.5 billion annually. American citizens squander more than a billion and a half dollars a year on an economically inefficient holiday."
"We are opposed to the ignorance and stupidity as displayed by the individuals that thumbed their nose at the area churches by continuing to use racial slurs, threats and avoided Christian deportment."
Yet another reason why torture is bad for national security. Or, the segment in which I agree again with Andrew Sullivan and find myself wondering if either of us has a goatee ...
"Al Qaeda continues to have a deep interest in acquiring weapons of mass destruction... I can trace the story of a sernior terrorist operative telling how Iraq provided training in these weapons to al Qaeda. Fortunately, this operative is now detained and he has told his story."
The man who spoke those words was Colin Powell at the UN. The "operative", we now know, was Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libbi. He was waterboarded and given Bush-approved hypothermia treatment, i.e. frozen till he could take it no longer. It was only then that he told of al Qaeda's links with Saddam's WMDs... the CIA subsequently found al-Libbi "had no knowledge of such training or weapons and fabricated the statements because he was terrified of further harsh treatment." So I now realize that part of the reason I believed the WMD case for war against Saddam was because the Bush administration had been secretly torturing suspects and got false confessions. The biggest intelligence failure in recent US history - the WMD case in Iraq - was partly created by the torture policy. [Link]
Andrew Sullivan lays it down on torture. I wish our presidential candidates would speak out as clearly and unequivocally
First: I do not believe that torture does save people's lives, because I do not believe it gives us reliable intelligence and because the use of it historically leads to its becoming the primary method of intelligence gathering, and so undermines our extreme need to develop better intelligence gathering, especially human intelligence... And I do not trust those in power who tell me otherwise, because there is no check on them whatsoever, no oversight that they have not cheerfully avoided, and any admission of guilt on their part would lead to war crime prosecution...
But secondly: yes, I do think that in a choice between legalizing torture and the loss of American lives, I would choose the loss of American lives, including my own.
This is not righteous victimhood. It is righteous self-defense. There are some things worse than avoiding all casualties in warfare. One of those things is abandoning the core meaning of what a country and a civilization stand for. If America does not stand against the torture of individuals seized without due process by an unchecked executive power, then American stands for nothing. In fact, if this standard had applied two centuries ago, America would not exist at all... To destroy the constitution, the rule of law, and habeas corpus and to legalize torture in the false hope of saving lives is the action of those who do not understand freedom and who do not understand America. It is the action of cowards and slaves.
What part of "Live Free Or Die" do these people not understand? [Link]
I've more or less quit blogging about the Iraq war, but sometimes things are so absurd I just have to note them:
Thudfactor quotes: "One senior intelligence official in Washington has noted that Iraqis fatally shot through the back of the head are considered victims of sectarian attacks, while those shot in the front are deemed victims of ordinary crime." And if you get shot in the knees, it must be the Mafia? Buckshot to the face? Must be Cheney.
Does anyone know why almost half of the Democrats voted to continue funding for the war? They were all on board with Webb's amendment the day before (which would cause a drawdown in troop levels by mandating longer times between Iraq tours for soldiers). I can't figure it out.
Waaay back in 2004, I wondered why the media companies didn't just flood P2P networks with fakes. Of course, they did, and more. MediaDefender is a company that's hired by the likes of HBO and BMG to fight piracy. But they're not merely "flooding the zone" with decoy files. MediaDefender, which apparently can't hire a decent web designer, just had months of internal emails leaked -- to BitTorrent, of course. Petard, hoist, etc. The emails reveal that the company tried to set up its own video sharing site (Miivi.com) for the sole purpose of snagging illegal file-sharers. More on this story over at Ars Technica.
September 11, 2007: "she won't know that you're gone to say goodbye"
New York Is A Woman, Suzanne Vega ----------- New York City spread herself before you with her bangles and her spangles and her stars you were impressed with the city so undressed you had to go out cruising all the ... » M E-L posted this | 2 comments
September 10, 2007: Fiji Water: MOM! DAD! IT'S EVIL! DON'T TOUCH IT!*
Everywhere I see people with the squarish Fiji Water bottles. I want to collar them and say, "don't you know what the environmental cost is for drinking that stuff?" I mean, bottled water in general is bad. Especially if ... » M E-L posted this | 6 comments
September 10, 2007: Should laptops be banned from your meetings?
Rands In Repose: The Laptop Herring. And Blackberries, Treos, etc., one assumes by extension. I'm as guilty of this as the next fellow. A lengthy discussion ensues as to whether a no-laptop rule is a good idea or not. Of ... » M E-L posted this |
September 6, 2007: 50 States, Baby!
Check it out! DonorsChoose.org is now open to every public school in every state in America! It's a huge day for us and one we've been working toward for a long time now. So if you know any teachers, tell ... » M E-L posted this | 4 comments
September 4, 2007: "They don't think like us"
"They don't think like us" is the latest essay about Arab Culture that's making the internet rounds. Sort of like The World's Most Toxic Value System from a few years back. » M E-L posted this |
August 30, 2007: Not even the KKK can resist the power of...
Clowns! It was at this point that several observers reported seeing several Klan members heads exploding in rage and they stopped trying to explain to the clowns what they wanted. Apparently the clowns fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the rally, ... » M E-L posted this | 4 comments
August 27, 2007: THE ONION SCOOPS AGAIN
Hours after the announcement, The Onion already has the street's opinion on Gonzalez's resignation. Do you think they have been going out everyday and asking people "What do you think of the AG's resignation today?" secure in the knowledge that ... » patrick posted this | 2 comments
August 16, 2007: Don't Believe the Hype
The 6 Most Over-Hyped Threats to America (And What Should Scare You Instead) America's Top Seven Most Hated Substances I was trying to find an "eight" to round out this list but could only find The Eight Most Disturbing Criminal ... » M E-L posted this |
August 9, 2007: Baseball > Bridges
Libertarians ask why do taxpayers have to pay for the repair of the MN bridge when MN has enough money to spend hundreds of millions on non-essential services like baseball subsidies for wealthy business owners. ... you have to wonder ... » Ennis posted this | 15 comments
August 8, 2007: Simpsons / Electoral Candidates Mapping
Via Balls and Walnuts comes this mapping of Simpsons Characters to Presidential Candidates. I guess Cheney has the Burns character wrapped up, hence not on the list. Speaking of the 2008 Election, here come the usual "candidate selectors": one at ... » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
July 5, 2007: Buy Fewer Books
Found, rather accidentally and tangentially, on Emily’s personal journal: WorldCat, a collaborative cataloging of library collections. There are arguable snags, of course. I was told, for example, that the closest library where I could find John Knox’s First Book of ... » Tk posted this |
July 3, 2007: "Taken Care Of"
Bush, 2004: "There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I ... » M E-L posted this | 12 comments
July 3, 2007: Schedule Your Revolt Now
It occurred to me, on the eve of this 232nd anniversary of the founding of our republic, that most of the independence days of which I knew were in the summer. As this group consisted of exactly 3 countries (USA, ... » Tk posted this | 1 comment
June 28, 2007: Losing the Dog Vote
No matter how this story ends, it just doesn't begin well: Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack. Will Seamus become ... » M E-L posted this |
June 19, 2007: The Gay Index
3quarksdaily didn't make my feed cut -- frankly, there's just too much good content there for me to keep up -- but Kerim tipped me to this essay on Florida's use of the Gay Index "to monitor and predict cities ... » M E-L posted this |
June 12, 2007: Help McSweeney's
Local publishers McSweeney's are in some financial straits as their distributor went bankrupt, leaving unpaid revenues of $130,000. They're selling a bunch of stuff for cheap, auctioning off some art, etc. Books I'd recommend: Icelander, reviewed here. Voyage Along the ... » M E-L posted this |
June 11, 2007: NEWS FLASH: Recycling Works!
Especially when big companies do it. Money quote: "waste is really a design flaw." “We are constantly being asked: Is recycling worth doing on environmental grounds?” says Julian Parfitt, principal analyst at Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a non-profit ... » M E-L posted this |
May 15, 2007: The Presidential Race I want to see
NYC's ex-mayor against NYC's outgoing mayor against NY's senator. It could happen. Giuliani is the Republican front runner (cough, cough), Hillary is the Democratic front runner, and Bloomberg is this close to running as a third candidate with as much ... » Ennis posted this |
May 10, 2007: FIRST IMUS, NOW FARFOUR
Is no broadcast racist safe? There are so many jokes that go with this story, where to begin? I'll start with this one: Hamas, watch out, Mossad is a bunch of wimps compared to the law firm of Lipshitz, Fein, ... » patrick posted this | 2 comments
May 7, 2007: What happens in Iraq
... stays in Iraq: More than one-third of U.S. soldiers in Iraq surveyed by the Army said they believe torture should be allowed if it helps gather important information about insurgents, the Pentagon disclosed yesterday. Four in 10 said they ... » Ennis posted this | 17 comments
May 1, 2007: Happy Loyalty Day Everyone!
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2007, as Loyalty Day. I call upon the people of the United States to participate in this national observance and to display the flag of the United States on Loyalty Day as a symbol of pride in our Nation. » Ennis posted this |
May 1, 2007: This is Wrong on So Many Levels
"Lauren Nelson, 20, of Lawton, Oklahoma, worked with police in Suffolk County to target would-be Internet sexual predators, taped for an episode of the TV show "America's Most Wanted." She posed as a teenager and lured men into chatting online ... » patrick posted this |
April 25, 2007: Tell Me Again About the 60 Ways
Cynical-C rounds up 60 different groups, entities, etc. who have been blamed for the Virginia Tech Shootings: The Blame Game » M E-L posted this |
April 24, 2007: I don't think he meant to say that
Mary Tillman, Pat's mother, also testified, saying she was "appalled" by comments from Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, an officer in Tillman's unit, suggesting that the family was not at peace with the death because they are atheists who believe their ... » Ennis posted this |
April 20, 2007: Wow.
I was at this Yankees game yesterday. What an ending! » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
April 19, 2007: Sludgie the Baby Whale is Dead.
So reports NewYorkology. Dammit, where's the good news?! Wilkinson, get me a good news story stat! Oh hell. I'm just going to have to look at some kittens and puppies to make me feel better. » M E-L posted this |
April 18, 2007: "The only body of water that's 90% guns."
Let's hope that Sludgie the Whale doesn't swallow one while he cavorts in the Gowanus Canal. Welcome to Brooklyn, Sludgie! » M E-L posted this |
April 18, 2007: "...so that these innocent people have not have died in vain."
I don't know how I got on the Family Research Council's email list, but every once in a while I read what they send me. Their latest missive, on the killings at Virginia Tech, really stuck in my craw, because ... » M E-L posted this |
April 16, 2007: Tell Me Why (I don't like Mondays)
I hope you're not reading about it here first, but someone went on a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech today, killing 32 people and then himself. Horrible, horrible, horrible. Thudfactor, a VT grad and soon to move back to Blacksburg, ... » M E-L posted this | 3 comments
April 4, 2007: Fighting Fox
Chris Rabb is helping fight the new unholy alliance between Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus. One look at this video and it's easy to say why. » M E-L posted this |
April 4, 2007: If Pepsi Ran Like The Music Business
Music Video Business Principles Applied To The Real World Pepsi: Fine. Look, this television thing doesn't sound too great. What about the internet? Promotions: No worries there: we have you covered. Pepsi: [perking up] Ok... good. Promotions: Yes sir, we ... » M E-L posted this |
March 27, 2007: Myspace + Hotlinking + McCain + Lesbians
Anyone who remembers the MySpace + Hotlinking + Goatse post from January will understand the basic mechanism here: McCain campaign sets up MySpace page. McCain's staffer uses someone else's template, and hotlinks the images from the designer's template. Designer changes ... » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
March 26, 2007: Aquasana Water Filters and WaterFilterComparisons.com
Alex's investigative work last year into the connection between Aquasana and the "review" site WaterFilterComparisons.com takes a new turn: their president wrote back. I ask some further questions about this questionable marketing tactic. » M E-L posted this
March 6, 2007: Not An Onion Headline
Area girl calls 911 to report grandpa cheating at cards. Via Obscure Store. » M E-L posted this |
February 28, 2007: Sorry Felix!
It seems that Ishbadiddle is blocked in China. You can use The Great Firewall of China to test any site's availability. More about Chinese Internet censorship here. » M E-L posted this | 2 comments
February 23, 2007: The mommy tax
Cornell researchers sent out résumés and cover letters to real employers for hypothetical job applicants. All had the same credentials, but the packages included subtle cues to indicate that some of the applicants were parents. (For example, a résumé might ... » Ennis posted this |
February 22, 2007: Charitable Premium: 5%
Back in bidness school, the conventional wisdom was that cause-related marketing (think Newman's Own) would not command a premium price, but ceteris paribus would influence a buyer to pick the do-gooder item. A couple of b-school profs proved that wrong. ... » M E-L posted this |
February 21, 2007: When Is Microphilanthropy Not Microphilanthropy?
Water buffalo: Worst possible Christmas present? A complaint that Heifer isn't really matching a single water buffalo purchase with a single donation prompts someone to go out and buy their own water buffalo. Of course there are worse examples of ... » M E-L posted this |
February 19, 2007: Republic or Empire?
Republic or Empire (Harpers.org) The United States remains, for the moment, the most powerful nation in history, but it faces a violent contradiction between its long republican tradition and its more recent imperial ambitions. The fate of previous democratic empires ... » M E-L posted this | 3 comments
February 15, 2007: Microformats and Microphilanthropy
My dilettante interest in the Semantic Web has mostly been limited to thinking about making this blog. But recently I've been wondering how I can apply some of these ideas to DonorsChoose. (For a primer on the SemWeb, read Paul ... » M E-L posted this | 2 comments
February 14, 2007: Chugged
[12:54] thehomelesshelper: hey [12:55] meverettlane: hello [12:55] thehomelesshelper: whts up [12:56] thehomelesshelper: you have a blog? [12:56] meverettlane: i do. do i know you? [12:56] thehomelesshelper: nope [12:56] thehomelesshelper: I wanted to knoiw [12:56] thehomelesshelper: if you could help promote ... » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
February 5, 2007: Mind The Gap
Tufte Alert! The Gapminder World 2006, beta will chart just about any demographic data vs. other demographic data, for all nation-states or a subset, on log scales with bubbles (scaled to national population or any other data). Kewl. Via WhatsAPundit. » M E-L posted this |
February 5, 2007: A Modest Proposal
How to fix campaign financing forever for $50. Well, $50 per citizen, to be exact, but essentially have the gubmint act as an anonymizer. Via rebecca's pocket. » M E-L posted this |
January 22, 2007: OMG!!!
Obama Smokes!?! Only on Fox.... » M E-L posted this |
January 22, 2007: Dear Cafes of Park Slope
1. We are not here to listen to your music. If I wanted to listen to music I would bring my own. Turn it down. 2. Turning off your wifi connection to "save power" is a really dumb idea. I'm ... » M E-L posted this |
January 22, 2007: I'm tired of these motherf***ing snakes in my motherf***ing soup!
Felix writes on guanxi, vegetarianism, environmentalism, eating wild animals, cultural relativism, and the perils of going out to eat with your boyfriend's business associates in China: Not eating wild snakes. » M E-L posted this |
January 21, 2007: San Francisco Unsafe for Yale Singing Groups?
I mean, personally there were several times when I felt like attacking a singing group, but jeez: San Francisco Police Are Criticized in Wake of Fight Involving a Yale Singing Group. It was the B.D.'s and involves a party, the ... » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
January 9, 2007: In Which
A victim of identity theft tries to rent her own apartment from the identity thief. » M E-L posted this |
January 8, 2007: Sulfur
Smell of gas permeates midtown today, our office smells of it. Trying not to get headache. Or panic. Fairly calm, actually, although they evacuated Macy's a few blocks away. I think I'm too tired to panic, actually. » M E-L posted this | 2 comments
December 17, 2006: The responsibility to bear arms
Since I don't watch the news, I had somehow missed this little gem - mandatory gun ownership, in a town founded by quakers, in Idaho: After seeing the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, a city councilor in this tiny Idaho town ... » Ennis posted this | 12 comments
November 14, 2006: The Anti-Celebrity Endorsement
Grant has some interesting thoughts on the meaning of Douglas Coupland's endorsement of the Blackberry Pearl: This Blog Sits at the: Douglas Coupland and the Blackberry Pearl When Coupland endorses a consumer good, he contradicts his cultural significance. In the ... » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
November 12, 2006: TSA vs. Deadly Ball of Rubberbands
I got arrested this week at a checkpoint! I for one feel safer now that the deadly rubber band threat has been checked. Via Boing Boing » M E-L posted this |
November 9, 2006: Make Yourself Heard Soon
If you haven’t already done so, please make sure to write your (possibly new) senators and representative, and soon, telling them what you expect out of them and the 110th congress. Me? I had the pleasure of being snarky with ... » Tk posted this | 5 comments
November 6, 2006: Election Night Cheat Sheet Redux
I have been diligently avoiding the news, but apparently there is an election tomorrow. In 2004 we linked to an election night cheat sheet -- not actually a guide to cheating on elections, but rather a guide to the returns. ... » M E-L posted this |
November 6, 2006: When In Doubt, Blame:
The Jews The New York Times. And remember, the GOP has MADE US SAFER! A VOTE FOR THE DEMOCRATS IS A VOTE FOR THE TERRORISTS! Pay no attention to the nuclear bomb plans we just released on teh internets, please. » M E-L posted this |
November 6, 2006: "This is information retrieval not information dispersal."1
Kerim writes about just how far down the rabbit hole we've gone on torture: Majid Khan is being denied access to a lawyer because he was tortured. That’s right, his having been tortured means that he is now in possession ... » M E-L posted this |
October 30, 2006: Liveblogging the apocalypse
The situation in Darfur is complex and confusing. The government in Khartoum uses that to its advantage, hiding it's actions in the fog, much in the same way the Khmer Rouge and other genocidal actors did in times past. One ... » Ennis posted this |
October 27, 2006: Steal This Election
If you live in a democracy -- yes, I'm looking at you -- you have to go read this article on How to steal an election by hacking the vote. What if I told you that it would take only ... » M E-L posted this | 2 comments
October 23, 2006: For Those of You Keeping Track Out There
The scandal sheet. Dario Fo said it best: "Who cares? the important thing is to have a good scandal... so we can say: 'It's true - we're in the shit right up to our necks, and that's precisely the reason ... » M E-L posted this |
October 18, 2006: What's the Matter With Kansas?
Kerim points us to "this editorial from the Johnson County Sun in Kansas explaining why they are breaking from a long tradition of endorsing Republicans in this year’s election." The Republican Party has changed, and it has changed monumentally. You ... » M E-L posted this |
October 17, 2006: The Fill In The Blank Generation
In honor of the closing of CBGB's -- which, by the way, I never went to -- I played Richard Hell's "Blank Generation" really loud this morning. On my iPod. I am so old.. » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
October 12, 2006: "Coalition of the unwilling"
Tony Blair has received a public warning from the country's most senior military commander that the British presence in Iraq is threatening disaster there and in the UK. General Sir Richard Dannatt, who took over as Chief of Staff six ... » Ennis posted this | 1 comment
October 10, 2006: Your No-Chance-In-Hell Quote of the Day
"In other words, you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning while on your way home from purchasing a winning Lotto ticket with your wife, Jessica Alba, the first lady of the United States." Richard Roeper on the ... » M E-L posted this |
October 9, 2006: Giving Yale A Bad Name
Yale Student's Resume Video Raises Wall Street Eyebrows - October 9, 2006 - The New York Sun Thousands of Ivy Leaguers circulate their resumes each year to New York's investment banks, but few garner as much attention as Aleksey Vayner, ... » M E-L posted this | 2 comments
October 5, 2006: Associations
I was doing work-related research (yes, I do!) and ran across this company that provides management services for professional associations. Their list of clients includes: Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association Association for Dressings and Sauces Calorie Control Council Comics Magazine Association ... » M E-L posted this | 3 comments
October 3, 2006: Congress, you are our bitches!
So sayeth Mark, to whom I turn for his more-rightward-leaning-than-me political opinions. This time the GOP is in his sights -- for trying to restrict internet gambling: Note to you jerks in Congress; you work for the American people. We ... » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
September 25, 2006: I wish I were 10 again
Sleepovers at the Natural History Museum, oh my! The American Museum of Natural History next month will begin allowing all-night sleepovers, allowing kids (ages 8 through 12,) to roam the halls with flashlights and roll out the their sleeping bags ... » M E-L posted this | 2 comments
September 20, 2006: Maybe he was just auditioning for the Allen campaign
The political director for GOP Rep. John Kline has been filmed bellowing about "Jap" cars. The Minneapolis Star Tribune has just reported that the political director, former state Rep. Mike Osskopp, was filmed by Dem activists outside an event ... » Ennis posted this | 1 comment
September 20, 2006: Getting carded at the polling place
Georgia's voter ID law was struck down by a judge today, just as the House of representatives is set to to vote on legislation mandating voters in 2008 to present a valid photo identification that "could not have been obtained ... » Ennis posted this |
September 12, 2006: "The current, curdled, version of our beloved country"
Keith Olbermann's mad as hell and he's not going to take it any more.. Lets Bush have it with both barrels for leaving "this hole in the ground" as a symbol for all that has not been done. Via Big ... » M E-L posted this | 27 comments
August 29, 2006: Speaking of DonorsChoose...
We've started a new Back To School campaign to raise $75,000 in student proposals for New York City by September 30th! Check it out. (I've also updated the Herebar to show the thermometer for this Back To School challenge.) » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
August 28, 2006: How to Explain MMORPGs to Border Security
Guy drops his iPod in the airline toilet. Airplane gets diverted because of "a suspicious device." Guy has to explain just why he's going to Canada to meet someone he only knows through World of Warcraft: I played WoW, I ... » M E-L posted this | 5 comments
August 25, 2006: Call for Minions & Nemeses!
Debbie knows me so well. "Have you heard about 'Come Out and Play'?" she asks me when I get home. I admit that I have not. She sits me down at their website. "Look, they're going to be playing Human ... » M E-L posted this | 2 comments
August 24, 2006: Know Your Apples
Uh, guys, I'm pretty sure that's a Red Delicious and not a McIntosh. Of course, I'm sure the number of MTV viewers who are passionate about apple varietals is overwhelming. » M E-L posted this | 1 comment
August 21, 2006: Cash is Criminal
DWI? DWB? Nah, the latest crime is DWM, Driving With Money: Federal Appeals Court: Driving With Money is a CrimeA federal appeals court ruled yesterday that if a motorist is carrying large sums of money, it is automatically subject to ... » M E-L posted this | 11 comments