Incase you haven’t heard, the US government is charging civilians to evacuate the war zone. Read more in Email from Beirut.
Funny how news that is one week old is OLD.
Thanks to Latte Man for the update on the reversed decision.
Category: Politics
Political commentary and awareness
President Bush Flagged in Germany
Someone in Germany does not like GW Bush.
Adding a definition of marriage to the state constitution is stupid
For those of you about to vote to add the definition of marriage as "a man and a woman" should look at these other marriage situations from culture and history.
As you vote about making changes to your state’s constitution, you should consider the definition of constitution:
constitution – The system of fundamental laws and principles that prescribes the nature, functions, and limits of a government or another institution.
Having considered the definition, ask yourself does defining marriage within the constitution have anything whatsoever to do with the "nature, function or limits" of our government? Of course not! It has to do with trying to force your moral beliefs on others. Government has no business trying to legislate morals! As you place your vote, recognize that your decisions today determine the future of our country. Are you making decisions that keep this country a free, democratic society or are you making decisions that move us toward an autocratic, Orwellian society?
For the love of Mr Rogers find your war funds elsewhere!
Apparently congress is once again trying to cut funding to NPR and PBS. Folks, National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service are your voice.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans yesterday revived their efforts to slash funding for public broadcasting, as a key committee approved a $115 million reduction in the budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that could force the elimination of some popular PBS and NPR programs.
…It would reduce the corporation’s budget by 23 percent next year, to $380 million, in a cut that Republicans said was necessary to rein in government spending. [Source]
Can you imagine having your household budget cut by 23 percent?! They tried doing this last year and with MoveOn’s help, it was stopped.
in a defeat for House leaders, 87 Republicans joined unanimous Democrats in bucking an attempt to cut funding from the stations.
…
Markey expressed confidence that supporters of public broadcasting would have more than enough votes to stop a cut again this year.[Source]
There is still time to stop this one!
The reduction, which would come in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, must be approved by the full Appropriations Committee, and then the full House and Senate, before it could take effect. [Source]
Sign the petition at MoveOn and contact your Representative!
Is the real issue here that Republicans see PBS and NPR as having a liberal slant? With this current administration we have seen a great of loss of freedom with people being arrested for wearing "Veterans for Peace" t-shirts while drinking coffee and an introduction of propaganda bias as demonstrated in Kentucky with the blocking of liberal media while allowing conservate media. Here is a picture of the offending t-shirt. I would not have to shield my child’s eyes from that unlike some of the non-protest shirts I see in public and wonder why the wearers are not embarassed for themselves.
A similar move last year by Republican leaders was turned back in a fierce lobbying campaign launched by Public Broadcasting Service stations and Democratic members of Congress, in a debate that was colored by some Republicans’ frustration with what they see as a liberal slant in public programming.
…
Republicans attacked the PBS for programming they said represented out-of-the-mainstream viewpoints, highlighting in particular a "Postcards From Buster" episode that featured lesbian couples and their children in Vermont. [Source]
I don’t want to lose Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me!
Paula Kerger , PBS’s president and chief executive, said in a statement that the cuts would force the network to "drastically reduce the programming and services public television and public radio can provide to local communities." [Source]
I made my quotes from a single source but there is a lot of chatter about this! See also Stupid Evil Bastard for several comments, The 2002 Oversight of PBS, MoveOn’s Petition, and remember contacting your representative is easier than ever! Other references to this issue include Environmentalists Against War, delraysteve (interesting comments), Washington Post (2005), Wikipedia, and Where PBS Gets Funding. Use Blingo to find much more!
Thanks to Brainstream for the alert!
Offsite backups are a good thing
You know… in light of the growing Orwellish government we’ve got going. And when I say offsite, I mean like burying backup copies in the yard at a friend’s house…just in case.
After lecturing at two Chinese universities "[a] retired University of Tennessee professor is under investigation of potentially violating a federal law barring the transfer of sensitive technology to other countries, according to interviews and documents obtained by the News Sentinel." [Souce]
Study shows higher speeds make safer highways
The reason Knoxville wants to (or has..I don’t know) lower speed limits along I-40 is not for safety but in an attempt to reduce emssions so they can acquire federal funding for that stupid Orange Route. The air is too polluted to qualify for federal funding to destroy Harden Valley..I mean, build the useless road.
June 2005 is the deadline for air quality issues. The Long-Range Plan (LRP) must be met in order to get Federal funding. The LRP is updated every three years. [Source]
Wonder if they made it. Hey! Knoxville was part of the 1914 Dixie Highway. It befuddles me why Knoxville is so shortsighted as to try to steer commerce away from this wonderful downtown everyone wants to create. Not really, I understand that the 5 interchanges planned along I475 will make some political good ol’ boys some big cash while destroying some beautiful scenic countryside and historic caves for a matter of 24 miles of road. Think about the fortune we are spending to reduce travel time by about 15 minutes.
Hmm. Having read over the Knoxville Parkway information I can see why some of the arguments for the Orange Route are compelling. Still, I think it probably will turn out to be one of those things that looks better on paper than in reality. Let’s hope I’m just not turning into a curmudgeon because I think I’m too young for that. Anyhow, back to my point! Higher speeds make safer highways!
In 2005, according to new data from the National Highway Safety Administration, the rate of injuries per mile traveled was lower than at any time since the Interstate Highway System was built 50 years ago. The fatality rate was the second lowest ever, just a tick higher than in 2004.
As a public policy matter, this steady decline is a vindication of the repeal of the 55 miles per hour federal speed limit law in 1995.
…
Of the 31 states that have raised their speed limits to more than 70 mph, 29 saw a decline in the death and injury rate and only two–the Dakotas–have seen fatalities increase.
Source provided by Tom Maszerowski.
Questions and Answers from Knoxville Regional Long Range Transportation Plan Meeting
Dead for 19 months without investigation
It appears the TBI is willing to investigate a murder if the district attorney’s office will request the investigation. Attorney General Randy Nichols refuses so a walk has been planned in Knoxville on July 14 to publically ask Nichols to make the call to the TBI. Les Jones has posted the details at No Silence Here.
I have not followed this case and do not understand the politics behind the difficulty; however, if my child had been murdered, I would be ever vigilant in seeing a proper investigation executed. I would want the support of my community in my walk on July 14.
Yesterday’s poster updated
So rather than report on North Korea’s fireworks show, I thought I’d have fun with some allusion to where these actions could lead. How about great tv! So I remade a movie poster.
I started with the original movie poster and rushed through the title trying to pull as many words from the original as possible.
“‘M*A*S*H’ is what the new freedom of the screen is all about!” -Richard Schickel, Life
became
“‘M*A*S*H:THE SEQUEL’ is what losing freedom in America is all about!” -http://blog.siliconholler.com/
But I was really stretching. Now it reads:
“‘M*A*S*H:THE SEQUEL’ Bush’s next repeat operation!” -http://blog.siliconholler.com/
Incase a little explanation is in order, operation both refers to MASH being a medical offit with surgeons and that we call our wars "operations" now. The 1991 Persian Gulf War was Operation Desert Storm. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was called Operation Iraqi Freedom. Next of course refers to the fact that GW enjoys the power of the oval office too much not to leave office without doing something in addition to Iraq. Repeat refers to Bush’s inclination to not doing anything original. Iraq, did it in 91 but he did it again in 03. Ok, N Korea? Did it in 50 but Bush is going to do it again! Come on. Let’s do something original with this administration. Let’s invade Canada! Oops. Apparently we did that in 1775 and 1812. Steve Burgess at Salon says we should do it again and right now!
It didn’t support the war, it’s soft on pot and gays, its economy is rolling and U.S. troops are bored. Anyway, reasons to invade countries are no longer needed!
Someone has asked me to explain the first quote on the poster.
"Because you were too young for Nam and too old for the Gulf but thanks to new legislation this is the perfect war for your midlife crisis!"
This quote is totally about the legislation to allow new recruits as old as 42 into the Army. See where the numbers fall. Of course this raises concerns about the draft but so did Operation Desert Storm. Here are the typical accepted recruitment ages. As for the quote, if you are 42 you should be deeply entrenched in a midlife crisis. Plus you were definitely too young for Vietnam and, although technically eligible, you were probably older than the demographic fighting in either of the Gulf Wars.
The "Coming to a country soon" reference should be self-evident. I will go ahead and mark the date. January 13, 2007 the United States begins strategic bombing raids on North Korea.
Why associate a comedy with something as dark as North Korea? Understand that North Korea is crazy.
I rode The Dragon
Julie posted a reference to The Dragon. Years ago I rode The Dragon on a 1981 Honda CM400C (the C apparently means "custom" and is bored out to have the displacements of a 600…basically means a 600 will take me from the line but at cruisiing speed we pull the same RPMs). Sometimes a comment deserves to be a post so I repost here:
I rode the Dragon once. It tightens your butt cheeks quite well.
Motorcyclists have a rating system called “pucker factor” which is the degree to which your gluteus clings to your seat. The Dragon has a high pucker factor.
Once thing about the Dragon is you come out of it knowing how to take a turn. I was loaded down on an underpowered bike really designed to stay in the city and heading to Atlanta and I recall this one turn that I went into with a lot of lean. It was graffitti defying antics nearly dragging peg (that means the piece of metal your foot rests on drags the ground). That turn kept on going and going and going. It felt like I made a full circle three times! I certainly surpassed my comfort zone on that one but really learned the capabilities of my bike.
I hope to high heaven that I-3 gets shot down and does not destroy the Dragon.
Since the pundits will have covered N Korea’s missle test already
Original MASH movie poster.
Orwell
…could require Internet providers and social-networking sites to record for a fixed time, perhaps one or two years, which IP address is assigned to which user. The other would be far broader, requiring companies to record data such as the identities of e-mail correspondents, logs of who sent and received instant messages (but not the content of those communications), and the addresses of Web pages visited.
…
Comcast announced that it will begin to retain logs that map IP addresses to user identities for 180 days, up from its current policy of 31 days. (The company stressed that it does not record information such as "Internet use or Web surfing habits.") [Source]
Let me ask you something. This is done under the guise of protecting children from child pornographers.
Barton said, adding that it was time to "protect our children against these despicable child predators that are on the loose right now in our land."
They are now adding that emotional word "terrorism" into play.
it would aid in terrorism investigations as well
Child porn and terrorism are words that get an emotional response from the public while simultaneously causing the public to shield their eyes because they would rather be ignorant than look at the problem. So my question is is there really a problem or are we being played to give up our liberties? There might a problem. I don’t know. But it could also be that we are spending billions and giving up the freedoms that founded our country for something negligible. Yes, even if one child is hurt it is not a negligible problem but if the numbers are small then our government’s response is not just inappropriate but manipulative in that they say they are doing one thing (attacking child porn) and doing another (intentially eroding our freedoms).
Just because someone yells fire in a theatre doesn’t mean we should blindly run from the building. Is there smoke? Are we sheep?
Child pornography existed long before the Internet. Our government is treating a symptom and not the problem which gives credence to a potential hidden agenda. Tracking the viewers of child porn does nothing to stop the photographer and distributor.
The Internet hype has made us afraid to take pictures of our children. I know I have failed to click the shutter because of it. We should be able to record their childhood without fear. Natural is not porn.
Ban Public School!
This morning I posted that schools, some of which have already eliminated arts and foriegn language programs, are now seeking to ban games like tag that promote physical activity on the basis that these games cause physical and mental trauma to children. Michael Silence highlights a ban on pizza parties and sweets brought to our attention by A Whiff of Smiff.
Let’s cut to the chase and ban school. It is easier to have a totalitarian government when people are poorly educated. (those bottom states voted red as noted by Latte Man)
If you write your representative, they sometimes write back!
Kudos to efnet‘s #coldfusion‘s MacGeorge for writing his representative regarding net neutrality and bigger kudos to Tammy Baldwin for responding!
I strongly support network neutrality, the guiding principle which
ensures that the Internet remains open to all and guarantees
everyone equal access. …
…I am a cosponsor of the Network
Neutrality Act, H.R. 5273. This bill clearly defines U.S.
telecommunication policy to include the preservation of the
freedom to use broadband telecommunications networks, including
the Internet, without interference from network operators.
Specifically, it outlines responsibilities of network providers to
ensure that the Internet remains open and available to everyone. …
Sincerely,
Tammy Baldwin
Member of Congress
Good stuff! Her letter also mentions that it is better to send email than physical letters.
As a result of the anthrax incidents, all
mail sent to Congress is first irradiated. This process causes
significant delays. To ensure the fastest response, I encourage all
constituents who have access to the internet to contact me through
my website…
Be politically active in your life. There is time for a simple phone call or email. Contact your representative frequently!
See also Markey Amendment to COPE Act, Markey bill, and The Library of Congress.
It’s because our a/c is broken
CNN reports: Study: Earth ‘likely’ hottest in 2,000 years
The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the “recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia.”
A panel of top climate scientists told lawmakers that the Earth is heating up and that “human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming.”
This is Bush’s fault!
Other new research Thursday showed that global warming produced about half of the extra hurricane-fueled warmth in the North Atlantic in 2005, and natural cycles were a minor factor
Or maybe Jesus’…Because, it was cool when he was around.
The Bush administration has maintained that the threat is not severe enough to warrant new pollution controls…
Yes! It’s Bush’s fault!
The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization chartered by Congress to advise the government of scientific matters.
Ok then…it’s Jesus’ fault.
Woot! Wine!
Woot has a new angle, they are selling wine. Yes, you heard correctly, http://wine.woot.com/”>. For connoisseurs of the grape, this could be an excellent way to acquire some fine wine at fine prices.
For those that don’t know, Woot lists 1 product per day at midnight Central time (GMT -6) and sells it until they are out of stock. It might be junk or it might be an iPod $60 cheaper than anywhere else you could find one. Often the great stuff sells out in the first half hour of listing. Last I checked, Woot is affliated with Overstock.com.
What is woot.wine? We were all pretty despondent when we couldn’t work out the logistics for massage.woot.com. We started to question the very idea of spinning off another new dot-woot. But then woot.com offered our Rinfrescante wine and we were positively deluged with inquiries from friends and family pleading for more (of course the cheapskates wanted more – they got it for free). This was enough “market research†for us. We reactivated our wine-industry hookup and wine.woot.com was conceived.
…
So every week, wine.woot.com will uncork a sweet new wine deal.
Can I really buy wine on the Internet? Thanks to our esteemed Supreme Court, recent and dramatic changes in how wine can be sold and delivered in the U.S. allow wine.woot.com to bring wine directly from the winery to you.
What states can you ship to?Thanks to stick-in-the-mud buzzkilling state legislators, wine may only be delivered to the following states:* Arizona (expect longer delivery times)
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* District of Columbia
* Florida
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana (expect longer delivery times)
* Iowa
* Louisiana
* Massachusetts (expect longer delivery times)
* Michigan
* Missouri
* Minnesota
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey (expect longer delivery times)
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oregon
* South Carolina
* Texas
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* WyomingIf your state’s not on the list, no wine for you! Take it up with your state assembly person. We comply with all federal, state, and local laws in providing this wine.
Of course Tennessee is not on the list. We wouldn’t want to lose our reputation as being a bunch of backwards hillbillies. Now whar’s my shine?!
Little sidenote, The Tennessee General Assembly website looks like one of the politicans had his highschool age child build the site. "Pages Created and Maintained by: Legislative Information Services"
