No Capital

2009-04-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

Extended Hiatus Continues for Multitudinous Reasons

2009-03-11T01:08:00.000-07:00

Blogging Burnout

Happens to the best of us.

And to me as well.

2009-03-10T01:09:00.000-07:00

Estate

A picture of my family's ancestral home in Germany. This was built in 1796, but on land owned by my family for seven centuries.

2009-03-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

Catblogging! Action and Inaction Shots!

After a bit of a hiatus (I've been out of town at conferences the past 2 weekends, and it's been crazy busy even without the traveling), one action shot and one not-at-all-action shot of the kitties!

Tista crawls under the covers with me at night. Sometimes he stays there after I've gotten up...

Gramsci, meanwhile, is all about defying gravity, as the heaviest cat of the household who also jumps the highest. (He can jump on top of a 4.5-ft-high box that's currently in our den!) And he loves loves loves Da Bird...

2009-03-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Recognition

A gay rights pioneer is being honored:

The Washington, D.C., home regarded as the epicenter of the city’s gay rights movement is being designated a historic landmark.

The home belongs to 83-year-old Franklin E. Kameny, who is considered the “father of gay activism” by the Historic Preservation Review Board.
Kameny fought in World War II, earned a doctorate and then moved to D.C. to work as an astronomer. But he was fired by the Army Map Service in 1957 for being gay.

In 1961, Kameny argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that a federal policy calling homosexuals a security risk was “no less odious than discrimination based upon religious or racial grounds.” It was the first civil rights claim in a U.S. court based on sexual orientation.

2009-03-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

What Is Wrong with These People?

Seriously:

Just before President Obama was inaugurated, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh declared, “I hope he fails.” Though some Republicans have distanced themselves from Limbaugh’s sentiment, conservatives at CPAC have fully embraced it.

In an interview with ThinkProgress today, radio host Mark Levin and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) added their voices to the chorus of conservatives hoping for Obama’s failure:

TP: What do you think about what Rush said about, I mean, do you hope, should we hope that President Obama fails?

LEVIN: Yes.

TP: Yes?

SANTORUM: If…absolutely we hope that his policies fail.
“I believe his policies will fail, I don’t know, but I hope they fail,” added Santorum.

2009-03-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

Decadence!

Americans are decadent, so why not use that fact to prop up government funds?

In his 11 years in the Washington Legislature, Representative Mark Miloscia says he has supported all manner of methods to fill the state’s coffers, including increasing fees on property owners to help the homeless and taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, most of which, he said, passed “without a peep.”
And so it was last month that Mr. Miloscia, a Democrat, decided he might try to “find a new tax source” — pornography.
The response, however, was a turn-off.
“People came down on me like a ton of bricks,” said Mr. Miloscia, who proposed an 18.5 percent sales tax on items like sex toys and adult magazines. “I didn’t quite understand. Apparently porn is right up there with Mom and apple pie.”
Mr. Miloscia’s proposal died at the committee level, but he is far from the only legislator floating unorthodox ideas as more than two-thirds of the states face budget shortfalls.
“The most common phrase you hear from the states is, ‘Everything is on the table,’ ” said Arturo Perez, a fiscal analyst with National Conference of State Legislatures, who predicted the worst financial year for states since the end of World War II.
Nowhere is that more true than California, where Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a freshman from San Francisco, made a proposal intended to increase revenue, and, no doubt, appetite: legalizing and taxing marijuana, a major — if technically illegal — crop in the state. “We’re all jonesing now for money,” Mr. Ammiano said. “And there’s this enormous industry out there.”

2009-02-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

Still Kinda Wishing...

that I hadn't got hit by that car last week.

2009-02-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

A New Record

House prices continue to go through the floor:

Home prices tumbled by the steepest annual rate on record in the fourth quarter, two housing indexes showed Tuesday, and the pace of decline continued to gain speed in all but a handful of battered cities.
The farther prices fall, the fewer homeowners may be able to qualify for President Barack Obama's mortgage relief plan. Last week, the president estimated up to 5 million borrowers in good standing who don't owe more than 105 percent of their home's current value would be able to refinance into a lower interest-rate loan.

2009-02-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

Diamonds: Not Forever

De Beers is quitting:

Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers, the company founded by Cecil Rhodes, and the government of Botswana, produces a fifth of all the world's diamonds – around half of de Beers' global output – from four open-cast mines in the arid country.
Work will be suspended for the rest of the year at two of them, Damtshaa and Orapa No 2, while Orapa No 1 and Jwaneng, the planet's single most valuable diamond mine, will stop activities until at least mid-April.
Production at the mines had already stopped in December, when the workers went on their Christmas break, and when they returned only care and maintenance was being carried out. Now several thousand of the firm's 5,510 permanent employees will be sent home on extended leave on full pay from Tuesday, while 580 jobs will be slashed at the two mines facing long-term closure.
The shutdowns will be a crushing blow to the economy of Botswana, which has used its diamond wealth as the bedrock of one of sub-Saharan Africa's most successful and stable countries. Diamonds account for 70 per cent of its exports and 30 per cent of government revenues.

2009-02-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

Poor Homophobe

He just can't get no justice:

The Supreme Court said Monday that it would not take the case of a Kentucky high school student who wants to sue his school district over a policy that allegedly barred him from expressing opposition to homosexuality.

Truthfully, I don't think people should be stopped from expressing their beliefs. In fact, letting them speak makes it so much easier to identify the idiots and the hateful. But still, I cannot say my heart bleeds for the kid.

2009-02-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

Daddy Issues

Ya think?

George W. Bush's presidential library is taking shape in early designs, evolving from separate buildings at Southern Methodist University in Dallas into a single, multistory complex with a policy institute nearly two-thirds bigger than first proposed.

The overall structure has grown to an estimated 207,000 square feet — akin to an average Wal-Mart Super Center — making it more than twice as large as the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University in College Station, which is the library for Bush's father.

2009-02-21T07:33:00.000-08:00

I Took the Polar Plunge

Still recovering.

2009-02-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

Word Choice

Hilarious:

A Utah state senator on Friday was kicked off a judicial committee he chaired after he drew criticism for comparing gay activists to radical Muslims in an interview aired this week.
Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, also told former local television reporter Reed Cowan, an openly gay documentary producer who now works at a Miami station, that gay activists are "probably the greatest threat to America going down."

2009-02-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

Getting Worse in Asia

AIDS is spreading fast:

The AIDS virus is spreading rapidly among gay and bisexual men in Asia as younger people shun condoms and authorities fail to increase awareness of the disease, health officials said Friday.

2009-02-20T14:24:00.001-08:00

Sarah Palin's Next Vacation

It could be in Texas:

Millions of wild pigs weighing up to 300 pounds have been tearing up crops, trampling fences and eating just about anything in their path in Texas. But now they had better watch their hairy backs.
A state lawmaker is proposing to allow ordinary Texans with rifles and shotguns to shoot the voracious, tusked animals from helicopters.

2009-02-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

All About the Hetero

That's Utah for you:

(Salt Lake City, Utah) A bill that would have offered unmarried couples - straight or gay - inheritance rights and the power to make medical decisions when the other partner is incapacitated, Wednesday in the legislature.

It was the fifth defeat for a group of bills called the Common Ground Initiative that would have expanded LGBT civil rights in Utah.
Tuesday, legislation to include gays in job and housing protections was defeated and bills to allow for joint support and the creation of a domestic partner registry also failed to gain traction.

A fifth bill which would have allowed same-sex couples to sue for wrongful death damages was defeated in a state Senate committee last month.

2009-02-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

The Crazy Lives On

That's noted right-wing shill Michelle Malkin posing with who we've dubbed "Swastika Guy," owing to the sign he carried right onto the stage with State Senator Josh Penry, Congressman Mike Coffman, Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams, State Senator Dave Schultheis, former Congressman Tom Tancredo, and Independence Institute president Jon Caldara, among others. None of whom did anything about it, and in fact one person defended the guy to one of our people saying that the swastika is not a Nazi symbol, but an honored Native American symbol.

An honored Native American symbol? Really?

2009-02-17T17:15:00.000-08:00

Crazy in Ohio

Christian, heartland values:

A man held a woman captive in handcuffs and an adult nappy for three days while he read Bible passages to her in the US state of Ohio, police said.

Troy Brisport, 34, picked up the woman last Wednesday night in Detroit after she told him she had nowhere to stay, and brought her to his home in Toledo, about 90 kilometres away, police told The Toledo Blade newspaper.

The woman told police that after she fell asleep Brisport handcuffed her wrists and ankles, gagged her, undressed her and put her in an adult nappy, then read Bible passages, police Captain Ray Carroll said.

She apparently was not sexually assaulted, Carroll said.

However, court documents alleged that Brisport tried several times to suffocate the woman using a pillow and blanket.

2009-02-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

Still Bleeding

Another bad year for Afghanistan:

The number of civilians killed in Afghanistan's worsening conflict jumped 40 percent to a new high last year, and more than half of the deaths were inflicted by Taliban insurgents and other militants, the United Nations said Tuesday.

2009-02-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

Whining to No One

That's what the Republicans do these days:

Republicans have spent quite a bit of time lately criticizing Congress. By now, the arguments are probably familiar: the Democratic leadership hasn't been "bipartisan" enough. They completed a stimulus package behind closed doors. They passed a package filled with pork and radical policy ideas.
With all of this in mind, I can only imagine how annoyed GOP leaders will be with the new Gallup poll.
Congressional approval ratings have been pretty abysmal for a while, but with the economic recovery package passing, Gallup found "a sharp 12 percentage-point increase from last month, rising from 19% to 31%."

2009-02-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

Rather Embarrassing

Oops:

The stepson of megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes has been arrested on an indecent exposure charge.

Dallas police say Jermaine Jakes is accused of exposing himself to two undercover vice detectives last month. He turned himself in Thursday and was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.

2009-02-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

Faux Pas

Bill Clinton really needs to be more circumspect:

(San Diego, California) Former President Bill Clinton has come under fire from California gay rights groups for speaking to a trade group at a hotel being boycotted for its owner’s support of Proposition 8, the measure passed last November which bans same-sex marriage in the state.

2009-02-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

Only 7th Worst

Bush should be proud:

Devoted Bush bashers will be surprised to learn that despite what they may think of No. 43’s presidency, according to a survey of historians, George W. Bush is in fact, not the worst POTUS ever – he’s only the 7th worst.

The honor of worst American president ever this President’s Day goes to James Buchanan, who directly preceded Abraham Lincoln as president and who is largely blamed for not doing enough to prevent the Civil War.

2009-02-15T12:23:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's

Get kissing, people:

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a panel of scientists examined the mystery of what happens when hearts throb and lips lock. Kissing, it turns out, unleashes chemicals that ease stress hormones in both sexes and encourage bonding in men, though not so much in women.
Chemicals in the saliva may be a way to assess a mate, Wendy Hill, dean of the faculty and a professor of neuroscience at Lafayette College, told a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Friday.

In an experiment, Hill explained, pairs of heterosexual college students who kissed for 15 minutes while listening to music experienced significant changes in their levels of the chemicals oxytocin, which affects pair bonding, and cortisol, which is associated with stress. Their blood and saliva levels of the chemicals were compared before and after the kiss.

2009-02-15T12:11:00.000-08:00

Scrounging

The military is growing more and more desperate for manpower. This has beneficial consequences for immigrants:

The U.S. military will begin recruiting immigrants with special skills who are in the United States on temporary visas, offering a chance to become citizens in as little as six months, The New York Times reported.
A report on the newspaper's website on Saturday said it would be the first time since the Vietnam War that the armed forces would be open to temporary immigrants, provided they have lived in the United States for at least two years.

2009-02-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

Progress in Hawaii?

Perhaps:

A bill that would give same-sex couples in Hawaii all of the rights of marriage has passed the state House on a 33-17 vote. It now moves to the Senate.

2009-02-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

That's My Home State

Guns and churches:

Arkansas pastors may soon have to worry about more than their flocks' spiritual battles. After a number of shootings in churches nationwide, should congregants be allowed to bring concealed weapons into their sanctuaries?
Under current Arkansas law, holders of concealed weapons permits can take their guns anywhere they want except bars and houses of worship. A bill in the state Senate would let churches decide for themselves whether weapons should be allowed.
"I believe it would disturb the sanctity and tranquility of church" said Pastor John Phillips, a bill opponent who was shot twice in the back as he finished a service 23 years ago. If a church opts out, "Do you want ushers to stop you at the door and frisk you?"

2009-02-12T15:51:00.001-08:00

Publicity before Rights

Yet another shameful aspect of Bush's war:

As the U.S. was accused of human rights abuses, a State Department official advised the military to delay sending Guantanamo Bay prisoners home in order to avoid more bad publicity.
"We need to definitely think about checking ... to see if we can hold off on return flights for 45 days or so until things die down," according to the 2006 e-mail. "Otherwise we are likely to have hero's welcomes awaiting the detainees when they arrive."

2009-02-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

Big Business

If this is true, they should throw away the key on these judges:

For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses.
The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench.
In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers.

2009-02-12T00:49:00.000-08:00

Happy 100th!

To the NAACP:

The nation's oldest civil rights organization celebrates its 100th birthday today under the reins of a young new leader who wants to expand the group's focus from civil rights for African Americans to human rights for everyone.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded on Feb. 12, 1909, by 60 people, both black and white, gathered in a New York apartment to discuss recent race riots and how to fight discrimination. They signed a proclamation known as "The Call," and the NAACP, initially known as the National Negro Committee, was born.

2009-02-12T00:40:00.000-08:00

Classy to the Last

Ah, Blago:

Ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich is lashing out at the Illinois lawmakers who removed him from office, calling them drunkards and adulterers who don't know how to do their jobs.
Blagojevich's former colleagues and close associates are laughing off the latest comments as those of a desperate man — but he could make people nervous if he starts naming names as federal prosecutors prepare to indict him on corruption charges.

"At some point he's going to realize how much trouble he's in and the way the federal sentencing works now, the best way to reduce your own sentence is to cooperate against someone else," said Chicago defense attorney John Beal.

Blagojevich, impeached and ousted last month in the wake of federal corruption charges, seems open to spilling in a book at least some of what he saw during his two terms in the state's highest office.

"I've got my crayons ready, I'm ready to write it. I'd like to tell those stories," Blagojevich said during a Wednesday interview on WLS Radio's "The Don and Roma Morning Show."

2009-02-11T23:34:00.000-08:00

Recordkeeping

It's hard work:

The U.S. has been shoveling weapons into the hands of Afghan troops but doesn't have a firm system in place or enough personnel to ensure they don't wind up in the hands of Taliban fighters, according to an independent study.

2009-02-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

Liars

It is simply pathetic and repulsive that some Christians feel the need to attempt to co-opt a man's death:

[T]he fundamentalist pastor Grant Swank has a new article in which he promotes the long discredited tale of Lady Hope and Darwin's death-bed conversion. Unreal. It is completely false, and doesn't even ring true — those of us who are familiar with Darwin's writings wouldn't recognize the naive Jesus-praiser of Hope's account, and yet still this dishonest clown throws the fraudulent story of an evangelical con-artist as if it were true. He does put in a little disclaimer.
There are those who protest the above with extreme vehemence, concluding it is all fabrication and that Darwin made no Christian profession.

Right. We protest with vehemence because the story is idiotic and transparently false, unsupported by any historical evidence and contradicted by all that we do have. We have accounts of Darwin's death by witnesses…there is no American preacher lady hovering in the wings, no joyful bible readings.

2009-02-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

Unconstitutional

California is moving to alleviate somewhat the cruel and unusual conditions of its prison system:

Tens of thousands of California inmates will have to be released over the next two to three years to relieve overcrowding that has ravaged prison medical and mental health care, a panel of federal judges said Monday.
...
California's 33 prisons hold nearly 160,000 inmates, about twice their designed capacity. The judges said they were prepared to impose a limit of between 120 and 145 percent of capacity, which would require 37,000 to 58,000 prisoners to be released.

2009-02-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

Global

There's stupid all over:

The Catch the Fire Ministries has tried to blame the bushfires disaster on laws decriminalising abortion in Victoria.

The evangelical church's leader, Pastor Danny Nalliah, claimed he had a dream about raging fires on October 21 last year and that he woke with "a flash from the Spirit of God: that His conditional protection has been removed from the nation of Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of innocent children in the womb".

2009-02-09T16:32:00.001-08:00

He's Out

At least he lost his position, even if he's still being welcomed back into the church:

The rehabilitated bishop at the heart of a Vatican uproar for denying the Holocaust has been dismissed as the head of an Argentine seminary.

2009-02-08T21:53:00.000-08:00

Some Good News

Here's hoping:

The stimulus plan emerging in Washington could offer an unprecedented, multibillion-dollar boost in financial help for college students trying to pursue a degree while they ride out the recession.
It could also hand out billions to the states to kick-start idled campus construction projects and help prevent tuition increases at a time when families can least afford them.

2009-02-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

KBR

A class act all the way:

A spinoff of Halliburton Co. is on the verge of pleading guilty to federal bribery charges.
Court papers filed in Houston on Friday show Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC is preparing to plead guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for promising and paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Nigeria in exchange for engineering and construction contracts between 1995 and 2004.

Meanwhile:

Defense contractor KBR Inc. has been awarded a $35 million Pentagon contract involving major electrical work, even as it is under criminal investigation in the electrocution deaths of at least two U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

2009-02-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

Sign of the Times

I suspect we might be seeing more and more of this, around the world:

The French far-left is enjoying a renaissance thanks to the economic crisis which has given new credence, in the eyes of millions, to its anti-capitalist ideas.
Its figurehead is Olivier Besancenot, a postman who ran as presidential candidate in 2002 and 2007 of the Communist Revolutionary League (LCR), a tiny Trotskyist group born during the May 1968 uprising.

With polls showing he is now one of the most popular politicians in France and media queuing up to interview him, Besancenot has seized the moment to dissolve the tired old LCR and on Friday he launched a New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA).

He wants to tap into anger over the crisis, which many people blame on free markets gone haywire, to bring about "a new May 1968" with mass protests and a general strike.

2009-02-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

Spying on the British

Interesting:

American spy chiefs have told the President that the CIA has launched a vast spying operation in the UK to prevent a repeat of the 9/11 attacks being launched from Britain.

They believe that a British-born Pakistani extremist entering the US under the visa waiver programme is the most likely source of another terrorist spectacular on American soil.

Intelligence briefings for Mr Obama have detailed a dramatic escalation in American espionage in Britain, where the CIA has recruited record numbers of informants in the Pakistani community to monitor the 2,000 terrorist suspects identified by MI5, the British security service.

A British intelligence source revealed that a staggering four out of 10 CIA operations designed to thwart direct attacks on the US are now conducted against targets in Britain.

2009-02-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hiding Torture

Bush went to extraordinary lengths to permit the torture to continue:

A FLURRY of letters between the British Foreign Office and the US State Department has revealed that Washington did threaten to withdraw intelligence-sharing with Britain if documents related to the alleged torture of a British terrorism detainee in Guantanamo Bay were made public.

The High Court in London said on Wednesday the Foreign Office had refused to allow the torture documents to be revealed because of a "threat" from Washington to stop sharing intelligence with Britain.

The US warning, related to the case of British detainee Binyam Mohamed, was promptly denied by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who insisted that there had been no threat from the US to "break off intelligence co-operation".

But on Thursday night British broadcaster Channel 4 revealed that a letter dated August 21, 2008, from the US State Department, stated the consequences if a British court published American documents on the capture and interrogation of Mohamed.

2009-02-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

Guilty

The First Guy of Alaska is in contempt:

The husband of 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin has been found guilty of contempt by the Alaskan Senate.

Last summer, Todd Palin and others had refused to comply with subpoenas issued by Alaska lawmakers seeking testimony in the "Troopergate" investigation launched in July, triggered by the allegedly forced resignation of a state official.

2009-02-06T07:11:00.000-08:00

RIP

I think I've seen The Cramps more often than any other band:

Lux Interior, lead singer of influential garage-punk act the Cramps, died Wednesday morning (February 4) due to an existing heart condition, according to a statement from the band's publicist. He was 62.

2009-02-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

Now This Is Just Getting Ridiculous

Airlines charging for pillows and blankets? Really?

If you want a pillow and blanket in coach on US Airways, it's going to cost you $7.
US Airways said Thursday it will begin charging for its "Power-Nap Sack" on Feb. 16. It's following the lead of JetBlue Airways, which announced a similar policy last summer.

2009-02-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

Good News for the Land

Our new Secretary of the Interior is looking good:

The American public just scored a major victory on behalf of our public lands. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has announced that he is canceling all 77 contested leases surrounding some of Utah's most stunning national parks. Now, instead of being drilled and industrialized, this redrock wilderness can remain part of our natural heritage.

2009-02-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Insanity

Just... insanity:

A WOMAN suspected of recruiting more than 80 female suicide bombers has confessed to organising their rapes so she could later convince them that martyrdom was the only way to escape the shame.

Samira Jassam, 51, was arrested by Iraqi police and confessed to recruiting the women and orchestrating dozens of attacks.

In a video confession, she explained how she had mentally prepared the women for martyrdom operations, passed them on to terrorists who provided explosives, and then took the bombers to their targets.

2009-02-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

Meritocracy

Joe the "Plumber" is an authority, somehow:

Fresh off his stint as a war correspondent in Gaza, Joe the Plumber is now doing political strategy with Republicans.

When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week.

2009-02-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

True to Form

Ratzi just keeps on giving:

An Austrian pastor who has been quoted as calling Hurricane Katrina God’s punishment for sin in New Orleans is being promoted to the rank of bishop.

2009-02-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

Depressing

Why, again, did I go into this profession?

For six years, Rebekah slaved at Boston University for her PhD in American Studies. Her plan: work in New York as a museum curator. She pictured chatty, engrossing interviews with like-minded creative types. “Everyone would be so pleased” with her PhD, she thought. Yet eight months after graduating, Rebekah is unemployed and considering a gig at a public library that requires only a GED.
The demand for humanities PhDs has long been tight -- for four decades, the number of jobs requiring them hasn’t kept pace with the number of people earning them. But by all indications, recent university hiring freezes and evaporating grant money have reduced the world’s most elite degree to junk-bond status.
On the Modern Language Association’s Job Information List, a bellwether for PhD employment trends, the number of job postings is down 21 percent, the steepest decline in the list’s 34-year history. One attendee of last month’s annual MLA convention in San Francisco, where doctorate graduates can score interviews for tenure-track professorships, found the event rendered “somber” by the scarcity of opportunities. The same air permeated last week’s American Historical Association conference. “Job candidates who a year ago had goals of four or five interviews here were thrilled to have one,” reported InsideHigherEd.com.

2009-02-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

My Hearts Bleeds

The poor dears:

Of course, many Wall Street employees never expected the good times to end. They lived large, believing bonuses would always arrive, so they are ill prepared, both emotionally and financially, to cope with a sudden drop in income.
“Without a doubt, $18 billion is a lot of money, but it’s a drop in the bucket on Wall Street,” said Gustavo Dolfino, president of the WhiteRock Group, a headhunter for the banks. “These bonuses are down, and the salaries are not enough for these people. They can’t live on $150 to $180,000, so they haven’t saved any money. They put it on credit lines and at bonus time, they thought they’d pay it off.”

2009-02-01T23:10:00.001-08:00

Teaching Tomorrow

Trying to remember how that works.

2009-01-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

What Is Not Wrong with Kansas

Good news:

(Topeka, Kansas) A key legislative committee has approved a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s anti-discrimination law.

2009-01-30T09:08:00.000-08:00

The Other Economy

When one economy is clearly not working, another will arise:

Criminal gangs in the USA have swelled to an estimated 1 million members responsible for up to 80% of crimes in communities across the nation, according to a gang threat assessment compiled by federal officials.

2009-01-30T08:43:00.000-08:00

A Rarity

Being a racist Republican jackass doesn't pay off for once:

CQ reports that Chip Saltsman — who became notorious for mailing out the “Barack the Magic Negro” CD as a Christmas present to friends — will not be on the ballot for chair of the Republican National Committee because he was “unable to cobble together the six supporters necessary for nomination.

2009-01-29T19:19:00.001-08:00

Yet More Good

The new administration keeps on giving:

Senate Democrats moved one step closer to handing President Barack Obama an early health care victory Thursday, passing a bill extending government-sponsored health insurance coverage to about 4 million uninsured children.
The bill, which was approved 66-32, authorizes an additional $32.8 billion over the next 4 1/2 years for the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The House plans to take up the same measure next week.

Not perfect, but good.

2009-01-29T12:11:00.000-08:00

The War Continues to Take Its Toll

Suicide rates are continuing to rise.

Suicides among U.S. soldiers rose last year to the highest level in decades, the Army announced Thursday.
At least 128 soldiers killed themselves in 2008. But the final count is likely to be considerably higher because 15 more suspicious deaths are still being investigated and could also turn out to be self-inflicted, the Army said.
...
Officials have said that troops are under tremendous and unprecedented stress because of repeated and long tours of duty due to the simultaneous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The stress has placed further burdens on an overwhelmed military health care system also trying to tend to huge numbers of troops suffering from post-traumatic stress, depression and other mental health problems as well as physical wounds and injuries of tens of thousands.

2009-01-29T12:05:00.000-08:00

A Fitting Tribute

Hilarious:

When an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at George W. Bush last month at a Baghdad press conference, the attack spawned a flood of Web quips, political satire and street rallies across the Arab world.

Now it's inspired a work of art.

A sofa-sized sculpture — a single copper-coated shoe on a stand carved to resemble flowing cloth — was formally unveiled to the public Thursday in the hometown of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

2009-01-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

Schadenfreude

I has it.

2009-01-29T11:16:00.000-08:00

Fair Pay

Obama's signs his first bill into law:

President Barack Obama signed an equal-pay bill into law Thursday before cheering labor and women leaders who fought hard for it and the woman whose history-making lawsuit gave impetus to the cause.
Obama, choosing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as the first bill to sign as president, called it a "wonderful day" and declared that ending pay disparities between men and woman an issue not just for women, but for all workers.

2009-01-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Republican Response to Katrina

Commit fraud and profit:

GULFPORT — A Hurricane Katrina-recovery ambassador to President George W. Bush and the nation, Mayor Brent Warr says his work and the city’s will continue as prosecutors prepare a federal case against him and his wife, Laura, on 16 charges of Katrina fraud.
The Warrs cried quietly Wednesday in the corridor of the U.S. District courthouse just blocks from City Hall after they were each indicted on 16 charges: one count of conspiracy, one count of fraud, two counts of theft of public funds, four counts of making false statements, three counts of wire fraud and five counts of mail fraud.
The indictment says the Warrs reconstructed their beachfront mansion with $222,798 in ill-gotten gains from FEMA, HUD and Lexington Insurance Co. from September 2005 to March 2007. The Warrs received the maximum $150,000 HUD homeowners grant through the Mississippi Development Authority, $9,558 in FEMA funds and $88,440.10 from Lexington Insurance Co., the indictment says.

2009-01-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

More of What We Do Not Need

Alas, she won't just go away:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin launched a political action committee Tuesday to help support candidates for federal and state office.

2009-01-28T10:21:00.000-08:00

Let Them Die

That seems to be Scharwzenegger's position:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and State Attorney General Jerry Brown are planning to ask a federal court to a stop an $8 billion spending plan for prison medical facilities.
The officials also planned Wednesday to call for the termination of a court-appointed receiver overseeing reform of California's prison health care system.

A federal court appointed the receiver after ruling that the quality of health care in California's 33 adult prisons is unconstitutional.

2009-01-28T10:17:00.000-08:00

Fallout

Ratzi's love of anti-Semites is having consequences:

Israel's chief rabbinate severed ties with the Vatican on Wednesday to protest a papal decision to reinstate a bishop who publicly denied 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
The Jewish state's highest religious authority sent a letter to the Holy See expressing "sorrow and pain" at the papal decision. "It will be very difficult for the chief rabbinate of Israel to continue its dialogue with the Vatican as before," the letter said. Chief rabbis of both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews were parties to the letter.

2009-01-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

Homophobes Are Insane

Perception becomes reality:

A California appeals court ruled Monday that a Christian high school can expel students perceived to be lesbians, upholding a 2008 lower court ruling that there were "no triable" elements to the case.

2009-01-27T13:43:00.001-08:00

Going After Rove

It'll be interesting to watch how this plays out:

House Democrats renewed their effort to force former White House aide Karl Rove to testify in a probe into Justice Department controversies, presenting a challenge to President Barack Obama, who will have to decide whether to defend his predecessor's legal arguments.
Michigan Rep. John Conyers, Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on Monday issued a subpoena to Mr. Rove, seeking his appearance at a deposition Feb. 2. Mr. Conyers wants the former aide to President George W. Bush to answer questions on the Justice Department's firings of U.S. attorneys in 2006, among other matters.

For more than a year, the Bush administration blocked congressional demands for testimony from Mr. Rove and other Bush aides. The White House's assertion of executive privilege prompted the aides to refuse even to show up for a hearing. A judge last year, in a limited ruling, said the privilege didn't protect the aides from having to appear, even if they refused to answer questions.

"Change has come to Washington, and I hope Karl Rove is ready for it," Mr. Conyers said. "After two years of stonewalling, it's time for him to talk."

2009-01-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

The Stupid

It burns:

In their latest attempt to rally against the new economic stimulus package, many conservatives are ridiculing a measure that would aid states by making it easier to provide comprehensive family planning services to low-income women. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) defended the measure on MSNBC’s Hardball this afternoon, noting that “family planning saves, if done correctly, an enormous sum of money down the road in the health care system.” However, host Chris Matthews thought the measure sounded more like something straight out of communist China:

MATTHEWS: I don’t know. It sounds a little like China. […] I think everybody should have family planning and everybody believes in birth control as a right. I’m for — abortion is a right and all that. It’s all right. But why should the federal government have a policy of reducing the number of births?

2009-01-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

Whatever Works

Why does this fail to surprise?

The United Nations' crime and drug watchdog has indications that money made in illicit drug trade has been used to keep banks afloat in the global financial crisis, its head was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Vienna-based UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said in an interview released by Austrian weekly Profil that drug money often became the only available capital when the crisis spiralled out of control last year.

"In many instances, drug money is currently the only liquid investment capital," Costa was quoted as saying by Profil. "In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system's main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor."

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had found evidence that "interbank loans were funded by money that originated from drug trade and other illegal activities," Costa was quoted as saying. There were "signs that some banks were rescued in that way."

2009-01-27T10:49:00.000-08:00

It's Snowing

Interesting:

High in the sky above Mars, it is snowing right now. Very gently snowing. The snow does not settle on the rubble-strewn land below - not these days, anyway - but instead vaporises into the thin atmosphere long before it reaches the ground.
The first flakes of snow, on a planet that until fairly recently was believed to be waterless, were spotted just a few months ago. A Nasa lander near the planet's north pole was scanning the sky with a laser when it noticed the telltale signs of snowfall. The probe, called Phoenix, announced the news in a radio signal that was picked up by an overhead orbiter and beamed back to Earth. Nothing like it had ever been seen before.

2009-01-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

Drug World

This is just not good:

When researchers analyzed vials of treated wastewater taken from a plant where about 90 Indian drug factories dump their residues, they were shocked. Enough of a single, powerful antibiotic was being spewed into one stream each day to treat every person in a city of 90,000.
And it wasn't just ciprofloxacin being detected. The supposedly cleaned water was a floating medicine cabinet — a soup of 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients, used in generics for treatment of hypertension, heart disease, chronic liver ailments, depression, gonorrhea, ulcers and other ailments. Half of the drugs measured at the highest levels of pharmaceuticals ever detected in the environment, researchers say.

Those Indian factories produce drugs for much of the world, including many Americans. The result: Some of India's poor are unwittingly consuming an array of chemicals that may be harmful, and could lead to the proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria.

2009-01-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

Obama Forging Ahead

Working to permit states to set emissions limits now:

President Barack Obama will direct federal regulators on Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict automobile emissions and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said Sunday evening.

2009-01-25T11:49:00.000-08:00

The Global Economy

It killed Iceland:

Iceland's Minister of Commerce Bjorgvin Sigurdsson has resigned, two days after the prime minister announced his own departure due to pressures from the island nation's economic collapse.
...
The government of Iceland became the first in the world to be effectively brought down by the credit crunch.
It came after several nights of rioting over the financial crisis.

2009-01-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

Note to Ratzi

Shut up and get back to reconciling with Holocaust deniers:

The Vatican has condemned President Obama's move to restore US funding for family planning clinics abroad that give advice on or carry out abortions.
One Vatican official warned against the "arrogance" of those in power who think they can decide between life and death.
Another official said it dealt a blow to groups fighting against "the slaughter of the innocents".
The White House says the move aligns the US with other nations fighting poverty and promoting health care.
On Friday, Mr Obama ended a ban on giving US federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information about them.

UPDATE: Looks as though he's multitasking:

Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops, including that of a Holocaust denier whose rehabilitation sparked outrage among Jewish groups.

2009-01-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

Appalling

It almost seems as though the Bush administration didn't much care about keeping track of who they were imprisoning and torturing:

President Obama's plans to expeditiously determine the fates of about 245 terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and quickly close the military prison there were set back last week when incoming legal and national security officials -- barred until the inauguration from examining classified material on the detainees -- discovered that there were no comprehensive case files on many of them.

Instead, they found that information on individual prisoners is "scattered throughout the executive branch," a senior administration official said.

2009-01-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

Another Obama Benefit

He has al-Qaeda freaked out and confused:

Soon after the November election, al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader took stock of America's new president-elect and dismissed him with an insulting epithet. "A house Negro," Ayman al-Zawahiri said.
...
The torrent of hateful words is part of what terrorism experts now believe is a deliberate, even desperate, propaganda campaign against a president who appears to have gotten under al-Qaeda's skin. The departure of George W. Bush deprived al-Qaeda of a polarizing American leader who reliably drove recruits and donations to the terrorist group.
...
"They're highly uncertain about what they're getting in this new adversary," said Paul Pillar, a former CIA counterterrorism official who lectures on national security at Georgetown University. "For al-Qaeda, as a matter of image and tone, George W. Bush had been a near-perfect foil."

2009-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Obama Love

I'm feeling it:

President Obama repealed rules on Friday that restricted federal money for international organizations that promote or provide abortions overseas, sweeping aside a pillar of the social policy architecture of George W. Bush’s presidency.
The executive order that Mr. Obama signed reverses one of the first measures enacted by Mr. Bush when he took over the White House eight years ago and capped an opening-week flurry of action intended to signal a sharp break from the past in domestic and foreign arenas.
“For the past eight years, they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing countries,” Mr. Obama said of the restrictions. “For these reasons, it is right for us to rescind this policy and restore critical efforts to protect and empower women and promote global economic development.”

2009-01-23T17:01:00.000-08:00

He Won

And he's not afraid to say it:

The top congressional leaders from both parties gathered at the White House for a working discussion over the shape and size of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan. The meeting was designed to promote bipartisanship.

But Obama showed that in an ideological debate, he’s not averse to using a jab.

Challenged by one Republican senator over the contents of the package, the new president, according to participants, replied: “I won.”

The statement was prompted by Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona , who challenged the president and the Democratic leaders over the balance between the package’s spending and tax cuts, bringing up the traditional Republican notion that a tax credit for people who do not earn enough to pay income taxes is not a tax cut but a government check.

Obama noted that such workers pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, property taxes and sales taxes. The issue was widely debated during the presidential campaign, when Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, challenged Obama’s tax plan as “welfare.”

With those two words — “I won” — the Democratic president let the Republicans know that debate has been put to rest Nov. 4 .

2009-01-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Guns and Gay Rights

Clinton's replacement is a darling of the NRA and apparently a champion of gay rights:

New York Gov. David Paterson on Friday named U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill New York’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Gillibrand is a second-term lawmaker from upstate New York. She is a proven vote-getter in a largely rural eastern New York district that sprawls from the mid-Hudson Valley to north of Albany. She defeated a long-term Republican incumbent in 2006 and won re-election last year by a wide margin.
...
On LGBT issues she earned an 80 out of a 100 rating from the Human Rights Campaign and HRC PAC deployed Campaign College participants to work on her re-election campaign last fall.

She gained the support Friday of New York’s largest LGBT rights group - Empire State Pride Agenda - following a late Thursday night telephone conversation between Gillibrand and Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle.

“After talking to Kirsten Gillibrand, I am very happy to say that New York is poised to have its first U.S. Senator who supports marriage equality for same-sex couples,” said Van Capelle. “She also supports the full repeal of the federal DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) law, repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) and passage of legislation outlawing discrimination against transgender people. While we had a productive discussion about a whole range of LGBT concerns, I was particularly happy to hear where she stands on these issues.”

2009-01-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Ratzi

Will the Nazi pope reinstate a Holocaust-denier? We shall see:

The four were ordained in 1998 by the controversial break-away French bishop Marcel Lefebvre.

The Italian newspaper Il Giornale reported that the Pope has already signed a decree lifting the excommunications, which will be made public later in the week.

Lefebvre, was excommunicated in 1988 by Pope Jean Paul II for having ordained the bishops in defiance of the Vatican's authority.

Lefebvre, who died in 1991, led a schism from the Catholic Church over the more ecumenical approach reflected in the Vatican II reforms of the 1960s, and in particular the abandonment of the traditional Latin mass.

Pope Benedict has signalled he wishes to heal the rift. But he will face a difficult decision over reinstating the British bishop, Richard Williamson, 68, after his appearance on Sweden's SVT television channel this week.

"I believe there were no gas chambers ... I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps but none of them by gas chambers," he said.

"There was not one Jew killed by the gas chambers. It was all lies, lies, lies!"

2009-01-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

Horrifying

More blood at Virginia Tech:

Xin Yang's head was cut off with a kitchen knife, just weeks after arriving in the United States from China to study accounting.

Her alleged attacker, Haiyang Zhu, also from China, was arrested at the scene by an officer who arrived less than a minute after receiving an emergency call.

On January 7, he wrote on a Chinese-language blog he had been so frustrated over stock losses and other problems that he thought "only of killing someone or committing suicide".

2009-01-22T09:25:00.000-08:00

No President!

The right wing continues to amuse:

Unlike the bungled version of Barack Obama's oath of office delivered on Tuesday, last night's repeat performance featured all the right words in the right order – but that may not be enough to satisfy the conspiracy theorists.
Most people dismissed comments by the likes of Chris Wallace on Fox News that Barack Obama was not president because of the bungled oath on inauguration day, but citing "an abundance of caution", White House officials arranged for the oath to be retaken last night.
Alas, Obama did not bring his Bible, which has led some bloggers to state that the oath was once more invalid and the US has still not had a black president.
On Above the Law an anonymous poster writes: "It clearly states that a Bible was not used on Wednesday. Obama is not president."
"WE DON'T HAVE A PRESIDENT! … Now get this, the 2nd time he did it, everything went well, but he didn't do it under a BIBLE. WTF WTF WTF. So you telling me since Obama screwed up a few words, that's a big deal, but not having the Bible during the oath isn't important!? This is heresy I say," says another anonymous poster, this time on Godlike Productions. The writer does go on to say Obama forgot his Bible on purpose and "is one of many antichrists to only serve the will of the DEVIL himself", so is perhaps not a reliable expert on the US constitution.

2009-01-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

A New Era

Obama is not wasting any time:

President Obama signed an executive order this morning to shut down the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention center within a year.

The military-run prison camp at the US Navy base in Cuba, where about 245 terrorism suspects are being detained, has become a symbol of the Bush administration's war on terror and a magnet for critics who say it violates human rights.

Obama also signed an executive order banning harsh interrogations -- what critics say are tantamount to torture.

Obama signed the orders after meeting with retired military officers, who he said pleaded with him to stand up for human rights and American values in combatting terrorism.

2009-01-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

Gramsci Considers the Situation

Contrary to popular belief (and yes, of course he is so wildly popular that there are "popular beliefs" about him!), Gramsci can be a very serious cat. For example, he spends a lot of time pondering the Wisconsin cold, and is always careful to be located on top of either a person or a coat as he does so.

He has also been known to spend time weighing solutions to the current economic crisis.

But in spite of the fact that Obama started off poorly already by deciding to get a dog (!), overall, the new administration is making Grammikins worry a lot less, and so he's spending his time in more traditional kittenish pursuits.

(He loves that colorful string/wand combo so much he carries it around the house in his mouth. So maybe he does have a certain kinship with puppies.)

2009-01-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

My Heart Bleeds

Welcome to the real world:

The ranks of the nation's unemployed are swelling this week.

As President-elect Barack Obama's team transitions into the federal government tomorrow, President Bush's political appointees will be locked out, and in these tough economic times many of them are scrambling to find new jobs. High-ranking White House loyalists have deluged Washington headhunters with pleas for jobs. Corporations and nonprofit organizations have stopped hiring. With the GOP out of power, jobs on Capitol Hill are scant and K Street lobbying firms have trimmed their golden parachutes.

So this is the new reality: Instead of boasting to friends and colleagues of new jobs in goodbye e-mails, many longtime Bush aides have offered home phone numbers and Gmail and Yahoo e-mail addresses as their new contacts.

"For Republicans, the inn is full," lamented veteran GOP operative Ron Kaufman, a close White House adviser to former president George H.W. Bush and an executive at Dutko Worldwide. "You have lots of folks in the House and Senate on the streets and 3,000 administration appointees on the streets at a time when the job market is shrinking anyways. It's just not a fun time."

2009-01-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

Happy MLK Day!

And here's to 48 of the worst hours that American racists have lived through in a long time.

2009-01-18T23:11:00.000-08:00

Zora: International Kitty of Mystery

Bonjour, monsieur; pourriez-vous m'aider? Je cherche le cataire.

Ah, bien sur - oui, oui, mon cher, vous pouvez baiser ma patte.

As you can see, Zora is a very cosmopolitan cat.

2009-01-18T13:19:00.000-08:00

Criminal

We're being robbed:

Most of America's largest publicly traded corporations -- including several that are receiving billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers to finance their recovery -- have set up offshore operations that could help them avoid paying U.S. taxes on their profits, a government study released yesterday found.
American International Group, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are among the companies that are getting bailed out by U.S. taxpayers while having subsidiaries in locations where they can avoid paying U.S. taxes, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Of the 100 largest public companies, 83 do business in tax-haven hotspots like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands, where they can move their income into tax-free accounts.

2009-01-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

Thank God That's Cleared Up

The Pentagon has declared that the Pentagon didn't do anything wrong:

An internal investigation has cleared the Pentagon of violating a ban on domestic propaganda by using retired military officers to comment positively about the war in Iraq in the US media.

In a report posted on its website Friday, the Pentagon's inspector general said "we found the evidence insufficient to conclude that RMA (retired military analysts) outreach activities were improper."

The report said the controversy, which erupted in April following an expose in the New York Times, warranted no further investigation.

The Times found that the Pentagon laid on special briefings and conference calls for the retired officers, many of whom then repeated the talking points as military experts on television news shows.

It also found that many of the media analysts also worked as consultants or served on the boards of defense contracting companies, but that those ties often went undisclosed to the public.

2009-01-17T13:51:00.000-08:00

Another Reason to Be Happy

Obama can start fixing things immediately:

When Barack Obama is sworn in on Tuesday one of his first tasks will be filling 54 vacancies in federal courts.
...
During his two terms, President Bush appointed 326 judges to the federal bench.

“It is no secret that the Bush Administration’s goal was to pack the federal courts at all levels with arch-conservative judges who would be unfriendly to the vigorous protection of civil rights — not only for gay people, but for everyone,” said Cathcart.

2009-01-17T10:00:00.001-08:00

Advance Copy

2009-01-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

Clowns Are, in Fact, Scary

And you're paying for clowns to scare your kids:

Clowns who teach middle schoolers sex education!

The good folks at the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland were kind enough to send this info to me touting the work of one Derek Dye, the latest in the long, funny and sad line of abstinence-only sex education heroes. Dye uses his juggling clown schtick to draw the middle school kids’ attention, and then… Wham!
“Having sex before you are married is just like juggling machetes!”

“Sex before marriage will destroy all of your life’s dreams!”
...

As clownish as Dye’s words may sound to you, they are unfortunately not rare ones for young people to hear in classrooms all over the country. Thanks to George W. Bush and a complicit Congress, we currently spend $1.5 billion a year to fund abstinence-only until marriage sex education in our public schools. And yes, that money goes to people like Derek Dye, as he is employed by the Elizabeth New Life Center that received a $800,000 CBAE grant in 2007 to promote abstinence until marriage. His qualifications? A “Bachelor of Fun Arts” from Barnum Bailey Clown College, and an abstinence educator certification that can be purchased for $50.

Yeah. Clowns, sex, and large knives.

That's a recipe for great mental health, I say.

2009-01-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

They Protect Their Own

The criminals prepare to cover their asses:

US LAWYERS battling against torture and other abuses at Guantanamo Bay are braced for George Bush issuing last-minute pardons to protect those in his Administration most closely implicated.

The lawyers' warning came after a senior member of the Bush Administration, Susan Crawford, admitted for the first time that torture had been carried out.

Such pardons could prevent US courts from prosecuting people involved in torture on the Bush Administration's watch, in much the same way that then president Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974 for crimes he may have committed during his presidency, even though no specific charge had been made against him.

2009-01-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

It's Four Below in Oshkosh

And Wisconsin is going a little crazy:

Three Waupaca County men have been arrested in connection with the killing of deer last weekend near Waupaca.
...
Each is being held on a felony charge of mistreatment of animals. Hermes will make his initial appearance today in Waupaca County Circuit Court.

The deer were found dead Saturday, apparently run down by a group of snowmobilers who herded the animals from an alfalfa field five miles south of Waupaca where a herd of 30 to 40 deer are known to feed.
...
Three deer were found dead in the field.
Byron Goetsch, a DNR regional warden who is involved in the investigation, said the case is "pretty much the worst" he has seen in his 24 years with the DNR.

Yeah.

A little crazy:

A man claiming to be involved in the killing of 57 mallard ducks has come forward.

2009-01-15T12:44:00.000-08:00

"A Grave Mistake"

Yeah. Oops.

The Israeli military punched deeper into Gaza City on Thursday with a series of strikes that hit the United Nations' headquarters, a major hospital and the offices of international media groups.
As Israeli leaders weighed an evolving Egyptian initiative that's considered the best hope for ending the 20-day-old conflict, Israeli forces delivered another blow to the Hamas -led Gaza Strip .

For the first time in the offensive, Israel killed a top Hamas political leader in the Gaza Strip . Late Thursday, an Israeli air strike hit Said Siam, who served as interior minister after Hamas won control of the territory in democratic elections in 2006.

The most spectacular strike Thursday came when Israeli forces opened fire on the U.N. compound in Gaza City and set off an uncontrollable blaze that sent a pillar of charcoal-black smoke hundreds of feet into the sky.

Israeli forces hit the compound as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was preparing to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Tel Aviv .

Ban said that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak had apologized for the attack.

"The defense minister said to me it was a grave mistake, and he took it very seriously," Ban said before meeting with Livni to discuss U.N. efforts to bring the fighting to an immediate end.

2009-01-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

Where to F@$%ing Begin?

More expletives here:

A Vatican office that evaluated U.S. Roman Catholic seminaries says the schools have made improvements in halting what they call “homosexual behavior” among students.
The Vatican also says seminaries are doing well in teaching about celibacy and are generally effective in screening candidates for the priesthood.

The Vatican ordered the seminary review in response to the clergy sex abuse crisis to see whether the schools had contributed to the problem.

The Vatican also directed evaluators to look for “evidence of homosexuality” in the schools.

Some Catholics blame gay clergy for the abuse scandal. Experts on sex offenders say gays are no more likely than others to molest children.

2009-01-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

The Importance of Hobbies

Well, at least high unemployment rates free up more time for disturbing pastimes:

An estimated 3.4 million Americans identified themselves as victims of stalking during a one-year span, according to federal crime experts who on Tuesday released the largest-ever survey of the aggravating and often terrifying phenomenon.

About half of the victims experienced at least one unwanted contact per week from a stalker, and 11 percent had been stalked for five or more years, according to the report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. It covered a 12-month period in 2005-06.

2009-01-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

Shout Out

Very good:

Gene Robinson, the Episcopal church’s first gay bishop, will deliver the invocation at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, January 18 - the formal kickoff leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Obama.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the service, including the President-elect.
“It will be an enormous honor to offer prayers for the country and the new president, standing on the holy ground where the ‘I have a dream speech’ was delivered by Dr. King, surrounded by the inspiring and reconciling words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address,” Robinson wrote in a weekend e-mail to supporters.

“I am humbled and overjoyed at this invitation, and it will be my great honor to be there representing the Episcopal Church, the people of New Hampshire, and all of us in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community,” he said in the e-mail.
...
Robinson has been a strong supporter of Obama and was vocal about his anger over the naming of Rev Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration on January 20 at the Capitol.

2009-01-12T08:34:00.000-08:00

Another Growth Industry

Suicide hotlines:

Many mental-health crisis and suicide hotlines are reporting a surge in calls from Americans feeling despair over financial losses.

2009-01-11T09:36:00.000-08:00

Surreal

Nothing like a combination of video games and abject poverty to entice people into signing their lives away:

The U.S. Army, struggling to ensure it has enough manpower as it fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is wooing young Americans with video games, Google maps and simulated attacks on enemy positions from an Apache helicopter.
Departing from the recruiting environment of metal tables and uniformed soldiers in a drab military building, the Army has invested $12 million in a facility that looks like a cross between a hotel lobby and a video arcade.

The U.S. Army Experience Center at the Franklin Mills shopping mall in northeast Philadelphia has 60 personal computers loaded with military video games, 19 Xbox 360 video game controllers and a series of interactive screens describing military bases and career options in great detail.

Potential recruits can hang out on couches and listen to rock music that fills the space.

The center is the first of its kind and opened in August as part of a two-year experiment. So far, it has signed up 33 full-time soldiers and five reservists -- roughly matching the performance of five traditional recruiting centers it replaced.

The U.S. military says it has been meeting or exceeding its recruiting and retention goals, with 185,000 men and women entering active-duty military service in the fiscal year that ended on September 30 -- the highest number since 2003.

Defense officials say the recession and rising unemployment were likely to boost recruiting.

2009-01-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

Common Sense

Yes, this makes perfect sense. Because we all know that the only thing stopping rapists and child molesters is a strict men's room/women's room divide:

A blond girl heads from a playground into a women's restroom. A scruffy man, lurking outside, darts in behind her. "Your City Commission Made This Legal," the words on the TV screen read.

The dark ad came from opponents of a gender identity provision added last year to the city's anti-discrimination ordinance, which now allows the city's roughly 100 transgender residents to use whichever restroom they're most comfortable using.
...
Cain Davis, chairman of Citizens for Good Public Policy, said the issue is about regulating a "government gone wild" and ensuring public safety, charging that sexual predators could now simply enter a women's restroom claiming to be a transgender individual.
"We know when men go into women's restrooms, bad things can happen," Davis said.