"She fought me at first, but I found that rapid authoritative Spanish intimidates white people."
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Letting a kid be a kid?
My son has decided that he wants to be a Boy Scout.
My ex-wife and I are in agreement that this is a very bad idea based on these three issues:
A) The BSA has a history of supporting and encouraging segregation, first based on race and now based on gender.
B) The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God.*
C) Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed.**
How can I in good faith allow my child to join a group that practices discrimination?
He seems a little upset about this, however, after we explained to him what the Barnum and Bailey Circus did to animals, he understood why supporting the circus was a bad idea.
He is having a harder time with this, and trying to use civil rights based arguments, and arguments based in inclusion, as well as secular humanism, don't seem to be having the intended effect. Well, he is six. Most adults in flyover America have difficulty understanding arguments based on civil rights, inclusion, or secular humanism...(or the majority of Californians for that matter).
Anyway...does this mean that I am robbing my child of something that he may enjoy? I have a number of friends who were scouts, and for the most part, after years, intensive therapy, and/or a great spouse, they learned...
And just to put this out there...to those who say that Scouting provides a good moral framework for life...
Are you kidding me? Not to get all bumperstickery, but hatred and discrimination is not a good moral framework.
* http://www.bsalegal.org/duty-to-god-cases-224.asp
**http://www.bsalegal.org/morally-straight-cases-225.asp
My ex-wife and I are in agreement that this is a very bad idea based on these three issues:
A) The BSA has a history of supporting and encouraging segregation, first based on race and now based on gender.
B) The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God.*
C) Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed.**
How can I in good faith allow my child to join a group that practices discrimination?
He seems a little upset about this, however, after we explained to him what the Barnum and Bailey Circus did to animals, he understood why supporting the circus was a bad idea.
He is having a harder time with this, and trying to use civil rights based arguments, and arguments based in inclusion, as well as secular humanism, don't seem to be having the intended effect. Well, he is six. Most adults in flyover America have difficulty understanding arguments based on civil rights, inclusion, or secular humanism...(or the majority of Californians for that matter).
Anyway...does this mean that I am robbing my child of something that he may enjoy? I have a number of friends who were scouts, and for the most part, after years, intensive therapy, and/or a great spouse, they learned...
And just to put this out there...to those who say that Scouting provides a good moral framework for life...
Are you kidding me? Not to get all bumperstickery, but hatred and discrimination is not a good moral framework.
* http://www.bsalegal.org/duty-to-god-cases-224.asp
**http://www.bsalegal.org/morally-straight-cases-225.asp
Free Music Video
Apple's iTunes Store has the video for of Montreal's "Id Engager" available as a free download.
Between this and their cover of Zepplin's Immigrant Song (via You Ain't No Picasso), it has been a good week for of Montreal fans.
You can find more about the band at their website.
However...my favorite version of Immigrant Song has kittens...viking kittens (which was on Rather Good, but sadly has disappeared...)!
Edit: Found the Viking Kittens!!!
Between this and their cover of Zepplin's Immigrant Song (via You Ain't No Picasso), it has been a good week for of Montreal fans.
You can find more about the band at their website.
However...my favorite version of Immigrant Song has kittens...viking kittens (which was on Rather Good, but sadly has disappeared...)!
Edit: Found the Viking Kittens!!!
Poor (Heh) Sarah
Wonkette : Class Warriors Blamed For Palin Failure:
"Jesus Christ, Sarah Palin really doesn’t read the newspapers, or else she would see that Caroline Kennedy has definitely not been “handled with kid gloves.” And, as a point of fact, people disliked Sarah Palin not because she was hillbilly meth-capital trash — hell, so was Bill Clinton! — but because she was an idiot. Also."
One must wonder who Sarah Palin thinks she is kidding...
We hated her because of racism...because the First Dude is part indigenous...
It's never about class, Sarah, darlin', it's always about race.
That is why Obama won....er...wait...
"Jesus Christ, Sarah Palin really doesn’t read the newspapers, or else she would see that Caroline Kennedy has definitely not been “handled with kid gloves.” And, as a point of fact, people disliked Sarah Palin not because she was hillbilly meth-capital trash — hell, so was Bill Clinton! — but because she was an idiot. Also."
One must wonder who Sarah Palin thinks she is kidding...
We hated her because of racism...because the First Dude is part indigenous...
It's never about class, Sarah, darlin', it's always about race.
That is why Obama won....er...wait...
Illinois House Impeaches Governor - NYTimes.com
Illinois House Impeaches Governor - NYTimes.com:
"The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented action that sets up a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat."
Just because he is hated and kind of...well...evil...that doesn't mean that having these conversations was criminal. I think this impeachment before conviction is really...sad...or at the very least, strikingly un-American.
"The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented action that sets up a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat."
Just because he is hated and kind of...well...evil...that doesn't mean that having these conversations was criminal. I think this impeachment before conviction is really...sad...or at the very least, strikingly un-American.
New Blog at the Times
News Debate and Analysis - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com:
"In Room for Debate, The Times invites knowledgeable outsiders to discuss major news events and other hot topics. The aim is to hear a variety of voices — well-known, up-and-coming or unexpected — on a range of issues. Discussions include opinion, analysis, context — sometimes all three. Contributors may debate one another, or simply share what they know and move on."
"In Room for Debate, The Times invites knowledgeable outsiders to discuss major news events and other hot topics. The aim is to hear a variety of voices — well-known, up-and-coming or unexpected — on a range of issues. Discussions include opinion, analysis, context — sometimes all three. Contributors may debate one another, or simply share what they know and move on."
Thursday, January 8, 2009
And...
I am still going to get to the State of the State review...
However...when someone makes me long for Governor Spitzer, you know
the world is really and completely fraked.
Hating on Jaydiohead
The Jay-Z/Radiohead Mashup to End All Mashups (Please?) | Pitchfork:
"Jay-Z raps, Radiohead play, and you listen curiously for about a minute before groaning. Will somebody please stop the madness?"
I still think it to be brilliant.
"Jay-Z raps, Radiohead play, and you listen curiously for about a minute before groaning. Will somebody please stop the madness?"
I still think it to be brilliant.
Interesting
Living on Borrowed Time in a Stolen Land | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters:
"Those who are familiar intimately with Israeli people realise that they are completely uninformed about the roots of the conflict that dominates their lives. Rather often Israelis manage to come up with some bizarre arguments that may make a lot of sense within the Israeli discourse, yet make no sense whatsoever outside of the Jewish street...They fail to grasp that for the Palestinians, Palestine is home. Miraculously, the Israelis manage to fail to grasp that Israel had been erected at the expense of the Palestinian people, on Palestinian land, on Palestinian villages, towns, fields and orchards. The Israelis do not realise that Palestinians in Gaza and in refugee camps in the region are actually dispossessed people from Ber Shive, Yafo, Tel Kabir, Shekh Munis, Lod, Haifa, Jerusalem and many more towns and villages. If you wonder how come the Israelis don’t know their history, the answer is pretty simple, they have never been told."
Well said...
"Those who are familiar intimately with Israeli people realise that they are completely uninformed about the roots of the conflict that dominates their lives. Rather often Israelis manage to come up with some bizarre arguments that may make a lot of sense within the Israeli discourse, yet make no sense whatsoever outside of the Jewish street...They fail to grasp that for the Palestinians, Palestine is home. Miraculously, the Israelis manage to fail to grasp that Israel had been erected at the expense of the Palestinian people, on Palestinian land, on Palestinian villages, towns, fields and orchards. The Israelis do not realise that Palestinians in Gaza and in refugee camps in the region are actually dispossessed people from Ber Shive, Yafo, Tel Kabir, Shekh Munis, Lod, Haifa, Jerusalem and many more towns and villages. If you wonder how come the Israelis don’t know their history, the answer is pretty simple, they have never been told."
Well said...
What Would James Bond Do?
MI5: Internet phone services a risk to national security:
"Internet telephone services pose a serious threat to Britain's security, the head of MI5 has said.
The danger with online calls, said spy chief Jonathan Evans, was that they do not result in telephone bills, which are key evidence documents in prosecutions. This meant it would be much easier for terrorists to make the calls and eventually escape prosecution if they are tried for criminal offences."
No, seriously...The UK's plan to stop and catch terrorists revolves around...phone bills?!?
Somehow, I really doubt it...
Fascists.
"Internet telephone services pose a serious threat to Britain's security, the head of MI5 has said.
The danger with online calls, said spy chief Jonathan Evans, was that they do not result in telephone bills, which are key evidence documents in prosecutions. This meant it would be much easier for terrorists to make the calls and eventually escape prosecution if they are tried for criminal offences."
No, seriously...The UK's plan to stop and catch terrorists revolves around...phone bills?!?
Somehow, I really doubt it...
Fascists.
On David Fincher
Curiouser and Curiouser | Filmic | Kempt:
"He’s the Elvis Costello of directors: Embittered by success, drugged out, ambitious but distant, obviously talented but also kind of an asshole."
"He’s the Elvis Costello of directors: Embittered by success, drugged out, ambitious but distant, obviously talented but also kind of an asshole."
The Ambassador Wears Prada?
Anna Wintour in the running for U.S. ambassador? - news - dispatch - fashion week daily:
"If the extremely insider rumors are to be believed, could Anna Wintour, the first lady of American fashion, be in the running for an official post in the Obama administration--like, say, an ambassadorship to England or France?"
Me: OMG
FAU: please
me: What?
FAU: that cannot be a credible story
me: you would have said the same thing about Gupta a week ago
"If the extremely insider rumors are to be believed, could Anna Wintour, the first lady of American fashion, be in the running for an official post in the Obama administration--like, say, an ambassadorship to England or France?"
Me: OMG
FAU: please
me: What?
FAU: that cannot be a credible story
me: you would have said the same thing about Gupta a week ago
Obama and the talk
FAU and I were chatting about Obama as a marketer and his ability to control himself and his message. We both find this to be amazing, and part of what made me want to talk about it is the comments that were made on Countdown the other night about how Obama's team is really excellent at communication.
But back to Obama the man for a moment. FAU mentioned that even the unscripted moments that we have seen between BHO and Michelle are always controlled and...well...on message...
To this, I remarked, "Thank goodness he has daughters,so Michelle will do the sex talk..."
Can you imagine the conversation the BHO would have with his son about sex?
Think about it for a second...
It is an uncomfortable conversation, even under the best of circumstances, between parent and child, but...with Barry and his imagenary son?
Wow.
Flabbergasting, actually.
As FAU put it...
"Look....ummmm...this is a very serious issue, with very real consequences."
"As a man, you have to consider..."
But back to Obama the man for a moment. FAU mentioned that even the unscripted moments that we have seen between BHO and Michelle are always controlled and...well...on message...
To this, I remarked, "Thank goodness he has daughters,so Michelle will do the sex talk..."
Can you imagine the conversation the BHO would have with his son about sex?
Think about it for a second...
It is an uncomfortable conversation, even under the best of circumstances, between parent and child, but...with Barry and his imagenary son?
Wow.
Flabbergasting, actually.
As FAU put it...
"Look....ummmm...this is a very serious issue, with very real consequences."
"As a man, you have to consider..."
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Catching up
I will comment on the State of the State, SG Gupta (sigh), the trillion dollar deficit, the Living President Luncheon, and Sen. Burris (hopefully) at some point this evening.
I am aware that all these things have happened...
I am aware that all these things have happened...
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
WHAT THE F***?
CNN Medical Correspondent as Surgeon General? - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com
This can't be for real!
The media is screwing with me, right?
This can't be for real!
The media is screwing with me, right?
This is a joke, right?
New Surgeon General: Dr. Sanjay Gupta:
"Barack Obama appoints tee-vee doctor Sanjay Gupta of CNN as our new Surgeon General. What the hell is this, really?"
"Barack Obama appoints tee-vee doctor Sanjay Gupta of CNN as our new Surgeon General. What the hell is this, really?"
Out of context but...
FiveThirtyEight.com: Politics Done Right: On Making Mitch McConnell Wet His Pants:
"B.R. raises several interesting points, but they ultimately point back to one thing: Harry Reid has been exceptionally ineffective as the Democrats' majority leader."
This post has...
A) Hatred for Harry Reid.
B) More Blog Crushing on Nate Silver.
"B.R. raises several interesting points, but they ultimately point back to one thing: Harry Reid has been exceptionally ineffective as the Democrats' majority leader."
This post has...
A) Hatred for Harry Reid.
B) More Blog Crushing on Nate Silver.
A Gift from Google Analytics
This makes me really happy.
Blago Wins
Senate secretary turns away Burris - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com:
"The secretary of the Senate on Tuesday turned Roland Burris away from taking the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama."
Sen. Reid, sir, you are a moron.
What you created is a photo op that looks wonderfully similar to the attempted integration of schools some 60 some years ago and...reminded people that rich white men with spurious agendas still control the Senate.
Well done, you!
I am sure that Sen. Byrd's hood would fit you quite well.
And...I am sure that you will remind people how well the LDS Church (of which you are a proud member) has handled race relations over their history.
What you are doing smacks of racism...even when it probably isn't.
However, what you are doing is illegal (at worst) and extra-constitutional.
You are a fool.
"The secretary of the Senate on Tuesday turned Roland Burris away from taking the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama."
Sen. Reid, sir, you are a moron.
What you created is a photo op that looks wonderfully similar to the attempted integration of schools some 60 some years ago and...reminded people that rich white men with spurious agendas still control the Senate.
Well done, you!
I am sure that Sen. Byrd's hood would fit you quite well.
And...I am sure that you will remind people how well the LDS Church (of which you are a proud member) has handled race relations over their history.
What you are doing smacks of racism...even when it probably isn't.
However, what you are doing is illegal (at worst) and extra-constitutional.
You are a fool.
I wonder what Brad thinks...
LiveJournal: The Russian Bear Slashes a Social Network:
"The company's product managers and engineers were laid off, leaving only a handful of finance and operations workers — which speaks to a website to be left on life support. Matt Berardo, a Yahoo executive hired on last summer, is also believed to be gone."
A) I am quite happy that I finally dumped LJ last year.
B) It does make me wonder where a lot of my friends are going to move to, if they decided to keep "blogging".
Here is a fairly good (if outdated) way to migrate off LiveJournal to WordPress.
"The company's product managers and engineers were laid off, leaving only a handful of finance and operations workers — which speaks to a website to be left on life support. Matt Berardo, a Yahoo executive hired on last summer, is also believed to be gone."
A) I am quite happy that I finally dumped LJ last year.
B) It does make me wonder where a lot of my friends are going to move to, if they decided to keep "blogging".
Here is a fairly good (if outdated) way to migrate off LiveJournal to WordPress.
The Reality Of War
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (January 05, 2009) - The Reality Of War
Click through for the rather disturbing image.
Click through for the rather disturbing image.
As big a civil rights issue as Prop 8
Dear in Headlights | Bad Idea | Kempt:
"We love a bit of history, but it’s important to live in the now, especially if you’re trying to keep your calves warm. This isn’t medieval Scotland, and in modern America male skirts are really pretty strange. Having never tried one on ourselves, we can’t speak to their comfort, but the rules are the rules, and a little discomfort is a small price to pay."
"We love a bit of history, but it’s important to live in the now, especially if you’re trying to keep your calves warm. This isn’t medieval Scotland, and in modern America male skirts are really pretty strange. Having never tried one on ourselves, we can’t speak to their comfort, but the rules are the rules, and a little discomfort is a small price to pay."
Random Media Stuff
A) I love that my iPod went from Jaydiohead to Philip Glass to Public Enemy to the Pixies this morning.
B) Battlestar Galatica season 4.0 comes out today. I am excited for this as well as the final arc on SciFi.
C) Today's Questionable Content (Direct Link to Comic) does Battlestar proud by going several months (at least) later without any explanation of what happened in the interim.
B) Battlestar Galatica season 4.0 comes out today. I am excited for this as well as the final arc on SciFi.
C) Today's Questionable Content (Direct Link to Comic) does Battlestar proud by going several months (at least) later without any explanation of what happened in the interim.
There is no hope.
State still a failure to you -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY:
"New York's Legislature is still broken, according to NYU law school's Brennan Center for Justice, which four years ago placed it among the nation's most dysfunctional.
Thanks to the iron grip that Senate and Assembly leaders have on legislation, New Yorkers may be paying more for their auto insurance while coping with one of the nation's most outmoded balloting systems.
Additionally, New Yorkers can learn little about laws being formed, since there is hardly any open debate. And lawmakers can continue to 'vote' on bills without actually showing up."
"New York's Legislature is still broken, according to NYU law school's Brennan Center for Justice, which four years ago placed it among the nation's most dysfunctional.
Thanks to the iron grip that Senate and Assembly leaders have on legislation, New Yorkers may be paying more for their auto insurance while coping with one of the nation's most outmoded balloting systems.
Additionally, New Yorkers can learn little about laws being formed, since there is hardly any open debate. And lawmakers can continue to 'vote' on bills without actually showing up."
Monday, January 5, 2009
Asking you to steal...
What’s on Jim Tedisco’s iPod? - New York Politics Capitol Confidential - Albany Times Union - timesunion.com:
"The Assembly Minority Leader is reaching out to Gen Y with a new YouTube video and Web site assailing Gov. Paterson’s proposal for the extension of the current 8 percent sales tax to all downloaded products."
Stop The iTax!
Here is my major problem with this...
Apple developed the iTunes Store to help drive the sale of iPods...people still can add music to their iPod without the iTunes Store (or even without iTunes as most of you know). Apple has threatened to pull out of countries rather than face government interference.
Therefore...iTunes would just close their shop to New Yorkers.
Easy.
Now, moms and dads are still going to buy their kids iPods. They are the market leader and a remarkable piece of consumer technology. Sure, some people may switch to the Zune. Some may go to other platforms...but they are all the no where near the market share of Apple...combined.
So what are Johnnie and Janie going to do. Well, they will rip their own CDs.
And then...
Off to the Pirate Bay.
Which means that the income tax on the royalty payments that these artists should be receiving.
Seriously easy for kids to go to µTorrent and soon gigs upon gigs will be illegally streaming to their computers...
And the only people who will lose out are the artists, and...well the children...
Whom Gov. Paterson will have turned into thieves.
"The Assembly Minority Leader is reaching out to Gen Y with a new YouTube video and Web site assailing Gov. Paterson’s proposal for the extension of the current 8 percent sales tax to all downloaded products."
Stop The iTax!
Here is my major problem with this...
Apple developed the iTunes Store to help drive the sale of iPods...people still can add music to their iPod without the iTunes Store (or even without iTunes as most of you know). Apple has threatened to pull out of countries rather than face government interference.
Therefore...iTunes would just close their shop to New Yorkers.
Easy.
Now, moms and dads are still going to buy their kids iPods. They are the market leader and a remarkable piece of consumer technology. Sure, some people may switch to the Zune. Some may go to other platforms...but they are all the no where near the market share of Apple...combined.
So what are Johnnie and Janie going to do. Well, they will rip their own CDs.
And then...
Off to the Pirate Bay.
Which means that the income tax on the royalty payments that these artists should be receiving.
Seriously easy for kids to go to µTorrent and soon gigs upon gigs will be illegally streaming to their computers...
And the only people who will lose out are the artists, and...well the children...
Whom Gov. Paterson will have turned into thieves.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
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