Thought Crimes

Let's go Orwellian...in a country that cherishes free speech, are ideas ever illegal?

I just read this piece in Slate about a new bill sponsored by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) that is cruising through Congress. The overt parts of the bill, which some have dubbed the "Thought Crimes" bill, don't seem too nasty. It basically forms a study group to look into homegrown terrorism. Luckily homegrown terrorism hasn't happened much in the US, except for Pro-Life abortion clinic bombers, Timothy McVeigh, high-school shooter-uppers, and some radical lefty enviro-terrorists.

However the undercurrents of the bill seem to swirl around the use of the internet as a means of dispensing some pretty nasty material (and I'm not talking about Britney Spears beaver). In a hearing about the bill, Harman said that Americans:

"no longer need to travel to foreign countries or isolated backwoods compounds to become indoctrinated by extremists or learn how to kill their neighbor. On the contrary, the Internet allows them to share violent goals and plot from the comfort of their own living rooms."

The author of the article, Dahlia Lithwick, concludes:

The point of this new legislation isn't just to interrupt existing homegrown terror plots but to do something about the radical ideas that inspire them. That may be a worthy goal, but it's assuredly a goal that implicates protected speech.

So here's the rub, as I see it. Ideas are OK, plots are not so OK. Free-speechers like me are faced with distinguishing between and idea and a plot...lots of slippery slopes here into murky waters. What about revolutionary talk about overthrowing the government? As I've heard, sometimes in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another. Ain't that why we still have guns?

But, is it okay to post instructions for making a pipe-bomb, or an IED, what about a nucular weapon or biological weapon? My answer is a reluctant yes, because I think free speech is that important, and that we have the FBI, Homeland Security, Police for something other than doughnuts.

Would we prefer the antithesis, China, where they have hundreds of thousands of people whose sole job is to censor the internet, including censoring anything smacking of political criticism or democracy.

Of course it all comes back to the see-saw between freedom and security, with 9/11 being the current fulcrum. I'll always err on the side of freedom, but, in fairness, I don't want to dismiss those that are willing to trade a little freedom for security. My problem is that those are the same people that generally want to apply the manacles of "Traditional values" and "culture wars" with charactheristic missionary zeal. At some point in that murky swamp down from the slippery slope, my non-traditional values and countercultural thinking might be the next Thought Crime.

Steve L's Turkey Trot

I wanted to give props to our good friend Steve for holding his own Turkey Trot in Baghdad. Steve's been running in the Cowtown Turkey Trot for the last several years (if not the last decade...I haven't made one yet.) The problem was, he couldn't make it this year because he decided to stop complaining about Iraq and, instead, try to do something about it. So he loaded up the truck and moved to...Baghdad...with the State Department working on reconstruction projects. But Steve's a doer*, and it will come as no surprise to any that he organized his own Thanksgiving Run in the Green Zone. He emailed me that it came off quite well.

*Except for that one August day when he left us with a moving van full of boxes, a new house, and a tepid water hose (in a dry city), then went to see his son's soccer game.

Sweet ROCK N ROLL

OK, I've been deep into youtube tonight, so here's my last salvo:

YouTube Music Continued - Uncle Tupelo

One of my all time favorite bands that inspired a movement. Here's Uncle T in their formative years...

Townes

"Townes Van Zandt's the best songwriter in the world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." Said Steve Earle. This man was the line between brilliance and insanity.

Witness his issues, as evidenced in the brilliant biopic Be Here To Love Me which I encourage everyone to watch, but his brilliance as songwriter can not be challenged. As I've said in posts several years past (which I would link if I weren't so fucking lazy), I don't buy complaints about his voice. He's no Pavoracci, or some such, but his voice is incredibly evocative with respect to the songs he sings.

I love YouTube because I can see things like this:

Brilliant Music

Steve Earle has always been one of my favorite songwriters. He learned from the best, Ft. Worth born Townes Van Zandt. Here's Steve's tribute to Townes from Austin City Limits...singing about Townes iffy relationship with his hometown:

More Moving the Goalposts...

Since the days of "shock and awe" how many times have we read articles like this:

With American military successes outpacing political gains in Iraq, the Bush administration has lowered its expectation of quickly achieving major steps toward unifying the country, including passage of a long-stymied plan to share oil revenues and holding regional elections.

How long until we declare complete victory and leave?

Liars - Plamegate

I thought this was worth mentioning because I beat it to death back when it was breaking, but it's nice to see that Scotty McClellan doesn't like being lied to and is willing to name a few names. It's no surprise that all the top dogs were involved, I think we knew it all along. It just makes Bush look like more of a sap than we already thought. They duped him too. "I'll fire anyone involved." Indeed.

Scare Tactics - Common in Monarchies and Totalitarian Regimes

What an asshole:

President Hugo Chavez warned his supporters on Friday that anyone voting against his proposed constitutional changes would be a "traitor".

But it sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? I tried to include one of Bush or Cheney's comments about opposition to the war being traitorious, but when I googled "Bush Cheney traitor" I got about a million hits and none of them had to do with their rhetoric.

Crosswords

In case there are other readers that enjoy the occasional crossword puzzle, I thought I'd provide a useful link.

I'm a crossword fiend, and I might do six or seven crosswords a day. Crosswords typically get more difficult during the week with Monday the easiest and Saturday the hardest. The big Sunday puzzle is generally about a Thursday level of difficulty. The New York Times is the gold standard for crosswords, but there are many other good ones out there (that you don't have to pay for to get online). Other than the NYT, my favorite weekly puzzle is the NY Sun, followed closely by Newsday. The USA today is somewhat challenging. The Washington Post is pretty easy except for their Sunday Stumper. I really enjoy Newsday's Saturday stumper, which I just spent an hour solving.

Of course, you have to be a regular puzzler to be able to solve them as many of the answers are quite unique. To start you off, a sea eagle is an erne, and a high nest is an aerie.

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, the unique American holiday. I spent mine with members of the Mineola tribe that had been run out of their land by smallpox and musket. Just kidding.

I watched the Cowboys pants the Jets on an outside patio in the midst of large snowflakes and even larger flagons of wine. I've spent the day after by not shopping (except for a brief foray into the local liquor store), napping, feasting on leftovers, and watching my energized Aggies kick a little longhorn butt for the second year in a row.

How do we know what we want?

Reading the comments from the "Am I Pawn Shop Material" posts, I thougt I'd put out a question. When did you you figure out what you wanted to spend your life doing?

I haven't figured it out yet, but many of my readers have...some early, some late. I'd like to hear how you came to know your calling.

80's Videos

There's a contest for the best and worst video of the 80's going on over on Andrew Sullivan's site. I don't remember the video below from my adolescence, and that's probably a good thing. Check out the Dog Police...

Perspective - National Review

The National Review. Yeah, that's right....The bastion of the right. Get ready people. Check this shit out from John Derbyshire.

He says that liberals "want to transform people", and conservatives "want to leave people alone."

Given this definition, consider me a straight ticket man...on Elephant side.

Of course this is a magnificent lie. We all know the transformational inertia is on the right side, not the least of which are the Christianists who have missionary zeal behind their efforts. Just check out the greatest horror movie ever...Jesus Camp. The Christianists seek to impose their version of morality on the entire population.

Unfortunately, their version of morality keeps getting undermined by their leaders who do not act according to their votes and/or rhetoric; there seems to be a documentable trend highlighting more than a few Republicans hypocritically versifying while maintaining lifestyles that include hedonism and gay lechery. This seems to fit well with the recent scandals involving Catholic priests. We'll leave correlations between extreme piety and extreme lechery for another day. However, I don't believe it is coincidental that all of the exposed lechers are also people that spoke highly against lechery.

As for the claim that conservatives will "leave me alone" let's consider all of the activities the CIA, FBI, and NSA are now conducting against citizens. The Republicans (no longer conservatives) would have you believe that anything they do is in the interest of "National Security." Frankly this has become a party of "we know better, trust us." This theory is completely divergent with Goldwater-era conservatism and really turn a so-called government into a nanny-state.

This makes my election decision decidedly difficult becaust there's no real candidate that wants to let me be free. ( Ron Paul is a social conservative....he wants to tell you what to with you womb.)

In fairness, let me addres the "want to transform" liberals. Well, they've been out of power since 1994 for the most part so it's hard to evaluate their work. I guess Kennedy kind of agreed with Bush on the No Child bill, but that's been a disastrous failure. I'll be happy to criticize liberals once they've done something, but, right now, it seems like I can count on a liberal to leave me alone a lot better than a conservative.

And if you want to know who you should vote for, go here. As a statistical acolyte, this site has some cred. Let us know if who you like is who is chosen for you.

Moving the Goalposts

Brief post: I know I'm dollar short on this but I thought it was worth documenting for posterity:

The "end" of the "surge" was political reconciliation. The "means" was some additional forces and some new strategy. Well, the "means," by all notices, has been mildly effective. Yet when the critical September deadline occurred (which was, to most Americans, advertised to be a Go/No Go decision) we ended up with groveling equivocation by everyone. More of the same, we somehow agree to keep doing the same in the absence of any Iraqi political movement.

Streetlamp in Telluride

Click the pic to get a larger image...and see the great detail in the lamp.

Old Website

I had forgotten that I used to have a website. I did a little searching and was able to find it. It appears that this was about six or seven years ago, back when our only cat was the Sheep and when my digital photo library was pretty limited. I need to update this with the two newest cats (which are both old news and I have about a thousand pics of each) and new pics.

Am I Pawn Shop Material?

Here's an area where I need some feedback. I was solicited by a headhunter for an IT job locally. The thing is, it's a pawn shop. Worse thing is, it's a purveyor of usurious payday loans. Most people think us atheists are hedonistic, amoral bloodsuckers. But that, of course, is not true with me (as most readers know from personal experience.) Sure I like to drink scotch and smoke cigars but so do a lot of so called religious folk. As we've seen from the news over the last twenty years or so (and from personal experience), there's a lot of hypocrisy in those that would urge you to live as Jesus suggested. But that's a tangent....

So tell me, dear reader, do I have any business working in the pawn and usury trade? My initial thinking is no, but I might be persuaded by a good argument. Thoughts?

While I need answers on the above, let's ask a deeper question. Do you believe in the product that your employers produce, or do you just do it for the money? I had a tough time at RadioShack because I thought it was a tired concept with a (literally) dying market, even though I was quite happy working IT projects that had little direct relevance to the end-product. To what degree does support of your product matter to you? If I can make a good living making IED's or nucular weapons or toxic foreign policy memos, does it matter? Is our conscience today as connected as it should be or are we just looking to make a buck? I'd love to hear from someone who has turned down a lucrative offer on moral/philosophical grounds.

If you got a 100% raise, would you work for McDonald's? Halliburton? Moveon.org? (pick your demon.)

Anonymous Posting

As info, if you don't want to give your name when posting comments, you can post anonymously. This might be of value if you're going to throw your employer under the bus. I would, of course, prefer names so I know what kind of beast I'm dealing with....but I understand that there are people out there that actually care about their careers. Which should be a decent segue (if you're reading bottom up) into the next post.

Rabbit Run and other things literature

I've replaced a few Scotch benders with a reading bender. I just finished Rabbit Run, John Updike's first book published in 1960, I believe. I'm sure it was rather scandalous at the time, but now is pretty tame. It very well may have paved the way for Philip Roth and other major 60's writers who dealt with coarser subject matter. Just wondering if anyone else has read this and would like to discuss further. I've never read a book before where there was not one likable or remotely sympathetic character.

I think this is one of the things that makes the book grittily realistic...there is no such thing as pure good. I've read books with less sympathetic protagonists...the main character in Irvine Welsh's "Filth" comes to mind, and some might argue that Ignatius from A Confederacy of Dunces is irredeemably bad.

On another literary note, rumors abound from the Christianist-nanny goat right that they will be putting the full-court press on the upcoming movie, "The Golden Compass." This is because the writer, Philip Pullman, is one of the most outspoken atheists in England, and they believe the book/movie is a sinister plot to cleanse their children from religion. I read the book, and while there are definitely anti-religious overtones...the church is portrayed as a "magisterium," I don't think there is too much atheism that a child will be able to glean. The Catholic church and the current religious right only wish that they were a "magisterium." Kids'll like the big armored polar bears and will be oblivious to any message.

I read Richard Ford's "Lay of the Land" which finishes off his trilogy that began with "The Sportwriter." It was excellent despite a strange twist at the end that was probably unnecessary.

Other recent readings: The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, reread), Shakespeare (bio, Bill Bryson), Thunderbolt Kid (memoir, Bill Bryson), Freakonomics (Dubner, Levitt)

Cowboy Quarterbacks

It's very timely that I ran across this over on the Observer's blog. Bruce and I spent quite a bit of time trying to remember all of the Dallas Cowboys starting quarterbacks last Saturday. Here's a vid that goes through all of them...

Christmas Season

I don't think I'm quite the holiday sourpuss in 2007 as I was back in 2005. This, of course, is always subject to change as events unfold. It is with this sentiment that I provide the loyal readership with advance warning of your holiday favorite TV shows, so get your Tivo ready:

Nov. 27 -- A Charlie Brown Christmas, 7 p.m. on ABC. Repeated at the same time on Dec. 3rd.

Nov. 28 -- Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas at 7:30 p.m. on ABC

Dec. 4 -- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, 7 p.m. on CBS. Also appearing: Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, 7 p.m. on ABC.

Dec. 7 -- Frosty the Snowman and Frosty Returns, 7 p.m. on CBS.

Dec. 14 -- It's A Wonderful Life, 7 p.m. on NBC. Repeated at the same time on Christmas Eve.

See the whole list here.

The Future Energy Source?

The new Corporate Overlords of the Carter & Burgess, Jacobs Engineering, continue to amaze me with the breadth of their reach into really interesting fields. I may ultimately be made redundant, but this company is into some cool shit.

Yesterday as I'm making my way to the parking garage, I met a C&B employee on the elevator who went straight into a discussion of Helium 3 and how Jacobs is heavily involved with the research to make Helium 3 a future energy source. Helium 3 is very clean and can put out a tremendous amount of energy using very little of the product. There's one small problem with Helium 3, it's really only available on the moon.

Here's the lowdown from the article linked above:

Scientists estimate there are about1 million tons of helium 3 on the moon, enough to power the world for thousandsof years. The equivalent of a single space shuttle load or roughly 25 ton scould supply the entire United States' energy needs for a year

The scientists say getting a Helium 3 manufacturing facility up would cost around six billion bucks, which is a War in Iraq rounding error.

While we're on the topic, I don't understand why West Texas isn't covered with giant windmills. This is bleak countryside that could easily be used to generate mega-megawatts. I'm sure there are cost of production issues that make it less favorable in the short-run than petroleum, but the wind is not going to stop, which should lead to favorable payback period calculations.

Job Opportunities

For those of you that are not satisfied with your current station in life and may be looking for an exciting career change, I've found something that you might want to see. It will provide you the opportunity to interact with different cultures and appears to offer very stable work.

"We're trying to catch them but the difficulties are a shortage of monkey catchers."

Of course I'm referring to the ongoing monkey crisis in New Delhi, India. An Indian police official said:

"Wildlife officials are trying to find them. As police we're not experts in dealing with monkeys. We can deal with mad bulls but monkeys are more difficult,"

The monkeys are sacred animals, just like cows, in the Hindu culture that sees monkeys as reincarnations of one of the polytheistic religion's gods.

"I was talking to someone at my door at around 11 pm when a monkey appeared," Naseema, who goes by one name, told the Times of India. "As I moved inside, the monkey followed and sank its teeth in my baby's leg."

Six more bites were reported Monday in Shastri Park, while in an upscale neighbourhood in central Delhi, a rogue monkey bounded into the residence of Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, The Indian Express said.

You've probably heard about the muckety-muck that met an untimely end a month or so ago while trying to fight off the marauding simians with a stick. He was on his balcony and was forced over the edge, falling to his death.

India is the next big up-and-coming superpower and largest democracy in the world. With its grip tightening around the global IT development and helpdesk world and other industries, will this calamity derail the flattening of the world? Will the offshore workers be able to fight their way through the crazed beasts to get to work and answer our help desk calls? It's time we answer their call.

Political Tip-Off

As past readers will know, this blog likes to dabble in politics. So a little about me, for new folks:

I hate Republicans.

I hate Democrats.

I think Bush is a monarchist who prides loyalty over competence to a catastrophic fault; he is a Christianist and a dumbass and he probably smells like a soiled diaper. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and their ilk are dung beetles. Colin Powell was a good man who should have quit. Actually, anyone associated with the administration are now covered with the fetid stank of a cronyist militaristic constitution-hating compost-heap.

I detest the shrill wing of the liberal left. The left is a castrated cadre that is incapable of coalescing. While I wish more people would stand up in protest like crazy Cindy Sheehan, I wish they'd stand up with a more convincing message. Sheehan is the color-guard for the extreme left and will only serve to alienate. I'm not fond of Nancy Pelosi and I think the Democratic-led congress has been atrocious...notwithstanding the lack of a filubuster-proof majority in the Senate.

I consider myself a "Radical Centrist." I typically vote third party because I hate the other two, and. frankly my vote does not matter in Texas. I'd say radical because all parties these days are ruled by radicals who are funded by extreme interests. There doesn't seem to be anybody with money willing to contribute to a coalition style government like there is in European parliamentary democracies. I don't see why every other democracy in the world can support multiple parties, but we're subjected to worse and worser.

The GOP and Donkeys have plenty of internal divisions. The GOP has the schism between the awful social conservatives and the tolerable economic conservatives (at least their shit is based on data.) The Donkeys have separation based on war ideology as well as the division between "yellow-dog" and "blue-dog" persuasions and they are incapable of finding a coherent message.

Yes, I like third parties but I'm not falling for the Ron Paul bullshit because he's aligned with the Christianists and maybe worse.

I am a strong proponent of pragmatism and moral relativism (which our current prez eschews.) I don't believe the world is black-and-white. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, this is apparently becoming relevant to the Shrub administration with regard to Pakistan (and everywhere else). They bleat Wilsonian about bringing democracy to the world, yet support a corrupt dictator whose country is harboring Public Enemy Numero Uno. Said country happens to be nucular, so all bets are off on the democracy thang.

As for Rudy, he's another aspiring cronyist dictator. Witness Kerik. He scares me more than anything else, regardless of his lefty positions on abortion and gays.

I believe I've stopped making sense. With the lack of a good third-party alternative, I'm leaning Obama. I don't like Hillary-robot and I think she's the only thing that can energize the elephants to enough turnout for another victory. I read about her feeding questions to an audience and it sounds all too much like Bush's hand-picked audiences of his prior campaigns. We do not need another autocrat, which is surely what we'd get with Giuliani the megalomaniac, and I fear Hillary also.

Thoughts?

I've always had a feeling oenaphiles were a fraud...

Wine experts beware. Read the whole story here.

"So much for objectivity. But results like this shouldn't be surprising.
I've blogged about this before, but it's such a cool experiment that it's worth
repeating. In 2001, Frederic Brochet, of the University of Bordeaux, conducted
two separate and very mischievous experiments. In the first test, Brochet
invited 57 wine experts and asked them to give their impressions of what looked
like two glasses of red and white wine. The wines were actually the same white
wine, one of which had been tinted red with food coloring. But that didn't stop
the experts from describing the "red" wine in language typically used to
describe red wines. One expert praised its "jamminess," while another enjoyed
its "crushed red fruit." Not a single one noticed it was actually a white
wine.

The second test Brochet conducted was even more damning. He took a
middling Bordeaux and served it in two different bottles. One bottle was a fancy
grand-cru. The other bottle was an ordinary vin du table. Despite the fact that
they were actually being served the exact same wine, the experts gave the
differently labeled bottles nearly opposite ratings. The grand cru was
"agreeable, woody, complex, balanced and rounded," while the vin du table was
"weak, short, light, flat and faulty". Forty experts said the wine with the
fancy label was worth drinking, while only 12 said the cheap wine was."

While I know many folks that consider themselves fine arbiters of the grape, I'm tempted to call bullshit. I would love to hold a blind taste-test to see if anyone can separate the wheat from the chaff. We'll go screw-top to grand cru, white to red, Loire to Napa...any takers?

It's much easier with scotch...I generally like the one that's in front of me.

Whither Gas?

I'll try and stir up some controversy now that I'm back up and posting. I read on another blog that one of the jillion gas outfits in FW is planning on drilling practically in downtown. Maybe it's Chesapeake, I forget and I don't want to go seek out the reference, but the plans are to drill right behind (like 100 feet) the old T&P Warehouse on Lancaster. While I'm aware of all the benefits gas drilling and its associated revenue will do for the city, isn't this a bit risky? If we've mastered the art of horizontal drilling, why so close to downtown? I jes don wan no splosions. Pro/Con? What about all the schoolyard drillin'? Just primin' the pump.

A Year Later...

I sit in my favored spot on the patio, enjoying a cigar and a scotch (which my wife had hidden, but I found), whilst reddened leaves from my crape myrtle are unhooked by infrequent breezes and flutter onto my keyboard. At odd intervals, pecans are jarred loose from their branches and fall like lugnuts onto the roof. Our friendly cat, Poofus, sits idly on top of an outdoor ottoman across from me. She is safe, and ignores all of the menacing sounds. It is always unclear on the patio whether she is protecting me or I am protecting her.

It is November 12, 2007 and I am clothed in summer-wear...athletic shorts that have never seen an athletic endeavor, bare feet, and my favorite shirt which was purchased in the summer of 2001 (or thereabouts) for one American dollar at the annual charity sale held at the Possum Kingdom Volunteer firehouse. The shirt advertises the 1996 4-H Horse Show in Abilene, with a horsehead emblazoned over the 4H cloverleaf. The shirt is very large, as is necessary to gird my supra-Rubenesque torso. It is spattered with random food, blood, tobacco, and other detritus of my loafing existence. It has holes. Many holes, caused by overzealous cats and drunken collisions with sharp edges between the drinking zone and the sleeping zone. This shirt is a winner.

I noticed my last post was about a year ago, just short of Armistice Day 2006. What's changed?

I came in second at the club billiard tournament for the fourth year in a row. I'm going to have to get my bridesmaid dress altered. But I did get to shoot a few games with women's champ Vivian Villarreal.


Our frequent contributor and conservative voice from times past Jim is now a talking head on CNBC.

Seems like I've had about four jobs since my last post. I'd say that I'm now a project manager with Carter & Burgess, except Carter & Burgess just got acquired. Who knows what the future holds?

It appears the local FW blog scene is maturing. I've recently caught on to some of the following sites...some focusing on local politics (gas drilling), some on architcture, a few on food, some on culture, and some photography (with some live music photography included.)

Our twenty-year reunion was held. I was involved with the initial planning, but was frankly too busy drinking and regretting to follow through to the execution. These were all mistakes.

My wife and I went to Telluride in May with a buddy of ours which was a great getaway in a truly idyllic setting. The dog:human ratio in Telluride is rapidly approaching 1:1, which is not a bad thing, and I never saw dogshit anywhere. The girls there tend to the granola side, which allowed me to spend more time looking at dogs. Here's a few pics that I'm working on:

and...

and....

As was the old routine, I hope to post frequent topical posts that generate comments and conversation. We had a good thing going there for a while until I volunteered for separation from RadioShack and too much time on my hands for anything but waking up late and drinking late. Cogent thinking wasn't really in the mental portfolio back then.

I don't know that I'll be able to keep up the posting rate that I maintained while I was waiting to be laid off, but I hope to be able to chime in a few times a week. As always, anyone that wants a forum is welcome to become a poster and all readers should feel free to comment at will, but be aware that the comment forum is a lion's den...so if you're posting on issues, be prepared.

I'll be following this up with an email with link to all of our former contributors. Forward as you please.

Hooray for Checks and Balances

I'm lighting a victory cigar and hoisting a celebratory cocktail in favor of the return of government as the founders meant. While I'm sure many of the Democrat's lawyers are gearing up for the Virginia recount, I hope some of them are sober and at their offices typing up subpoenas for Dick Cheney. In the next week, I hope to light another cigar celebrating the firing of Rumsfeld.

Texas, as usual, is a severe disappointment. More Kay and more pollution from Joe Farton.

Syllogism

Conservatives have always held that people know better than government how to spend money. That's the catchphrase they've always used with "liberals" to justify lower taxes. Lets harken back to classic Greek logic to learn something about the modern day "conservatives."

1. The majority of the population does not support the war in Iraq.
2. The "conservative" government" has made it clear that they will not leave Iraq and will continue to fund all Iraq War operations with taxpayer money.
3. Therefore, the "conservatives" feel that they know better than the people how their money should be spent.

Simple as that. These people are not conservative at all. They may say that they have cut taxes to allow the people to spend their money as they see fit. But this isn't true. They've overseen the greatest spending increase since the so called "Great Society" of LBJ...maybe ever earlier. So they've been masters over a massive expansion of government decision making...and cloak this under some tax cuts that mostly benefit the rich. This is not conservatism...it is irresponsibility masked by good powerpoint presentations and well crafted talking points. Tomorrow vote Democrat, independent, or abstain.

Elephant in the Room

One thing I've found missing in all the midterm election rhetoric is any discussion of fiscal responsibility. After reading this article, it seems almost criminal that we're not discussing the looming explosion. The article paints a non-partisan picture of the effects of the deficit and the demographic explosion of entitlments, on which we are on the precipice.

It seems odd to me that Bush squandered so much of his so called political capital on Social Security reform, when the real problem is health care costs. Other articles I've read have shown that the majority of health care costs are due to end-of-life care, where families will spend oodles just to keep Grandma alive for another month. While I'm sure some sort of reform is due for all entitlements, I strongly support reforming minds to a "culture of death." Maybe we could co-opt Nancy Reagan and advertise a "Just Say Death" campaign. While this won't go over too well with grieving families, I think we're screwed until Americans in general realize that quality of life is better than quantity of life.

Devo in Dallas

Before going to the Devo show, I asked myself two questions: 1) would I hear anything about altruistic rhubarbs?, and 2) what about suburban robots that monitor reality? For any true spudboys out there, you'd know that I wanted to hear Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA off of Duty Now for the Future. Rest assured, I realize that not everyone reveres Devo the way that I do. Luckily, Dena also shared my dedication so we proceeded to sing our way through a perfect setlist. While I don't have a setlist (Dena has my last iteration, that went by the wayside on my serendipitous separation from RadioShack), we do have some pics from the show:

Where the men are men...

I found this jolly snippet over at Sullivan's:

"...some Shiite Islamists in Iraq are allegedly killing shepherds because they have not put modesty "diapers" on their goats! The goats are too tempting for Muslim males, it appears. Well, compared with the walking black tents they force their women into, goats are indeed quite fetching. The logic of religious fundamentalism is nothing if not relentless."

Other notes...

So Wilsonion Bush's brassy, yet naive, goal of spreading democracy across the globe ain't going so damn good. To wit:

• Hizbollah kidnaps some guys and Israel bombs the burgeoning democracy Lebanon back to the stone age. This seems akin to my desire to napal Kevin Martin's house in 1983 after he stole my trumpet. But, in reality, Kevin's house wasn't all that close to democracy.
• The wacky-Pakistani's bombed out a subway in Mumbai. Again, I was just pissed about my trumpet.
• There's a 100 people getting killed in Baghdad everyday in a pretty gruesome manner. All of it purely sectarian. I never had a problem with Kevin Martin's family, although I heard his brother turned out one valve short of a cornet.
• Crazy-asses in Mogadishu trupeted the fact that Islamic radicals have staged a coup d'etat in Somalia demanding a pure Islamic republic. Ethiopia has invaded to prevent Somalia from returning to the bin Laden haven it was back in the nineties.
• Afghanistan is way fuckin' out of control. Seems that the suicide bombing craze has reached this land where you could just as well get all fucked up on the trumpet-shaped opium poppies
• Iran has been showing the world some serious brass in supporting Hizbollah and flouting the neutered UN, and the so called Bush-doctrine has about as much teeth as a 100 year old grandmother.
• Kooky Kim Jong Il in North Korea has been prancing around like he has a mouthpiece up is ass chunking missiles into the Sea of Japan. Given Iraq, North Korea and Iran feel like they have the world by the E-valve.

So what theme runs through all these humongous problems? If you said the trumpet fanfare of fanatical nutcases, your right. Has our horny foreign policy helped? Bush loves to show brass, but will it work? (by the way, I've had a few drinks...)

Return of the Grevious Poster

I know I've been horribly derelict in posting. It has been all I can do to get out of bed in the morning lately so severe is my melancholy, but alas, under the immeasurable live-giving properties of Chivas Regal, I have returned.

So, music. I was urged to post thanks to the miracle of the iPod, of which I've regaled many times on this page. I am too lazy to dig up the links, but you know. Gram Parsons' collaboration with Emmylou Harris on $1000 Wedding has long been, in my mind, the gold standard of the duet. My enjoyment of this song, as I've recognized in the past, has been on the strength of the quality of the counterpoise (which I may be using incorrectly but fuck it) of the two angelic voices; however, I've always struggled with what the hell the song is about. Most of the lyrics are readily intelligible, but somewhat cryptic: "it's supposed to be a funeral...it's been a bad, bad day." One can easily make out that something "bad" has happened...but just what? I have my own theories, but I would enjoy engaging the group in this discussion. I feel confident many readers have GP/Return in their collection and those that don't should should be ashamed of themselves and head right over to iTunes or your favorite side-of-the-mountain online music-seller and avail yourselves of this tremendous tune. Hopefully, a few of you still check in from time to time and will be willing to contribute...if not, I'll be pelting you with email in the next few days.

One specific question I'd like answered: in 1971, was a $1000 Wedding expensive? I'm assuming so, but I'll let the more economically gifted posters address this.

Superhero Quiz

If you're curious which Superhero you most closely resemble, head here.

I was "Ironman" by a mile. Not being a comics nerd, I don't know a damn thing about Ironman, so I checked it out:

Iron Man was originally an anti-communist hero. Throughout the character’s comic book series, technological advancement and national defense were constant themes, but later issues developed Stark into a more complex and vulnerable character as they depicted his battle with alcoholism and other personal difficulties.
Writers often portray Iron Man as a symbol of humanity's creativity as well as its frailties. He is often placed in contrast with his close friends Captain America and Thor, the former as a comparison between interventionist and cooperative attitudes, and the latter comparing science and the supernatural. Throughout most of his career, Iron Man has been a member of the superhero team the Avengers, and has been featured in several incarnations of his own various comic-book series.

Movie Review

I checked out The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada last night, which won acclaim at Cannes last year as Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut. This flick is way under the radar screen, but definitely worth watching as a modern western that is alternately quirky and murky in dealing with its main theme of redemption.

It is impossible not to conjure Cormac McCarthy in evaluating this movie (as has been done in many reviews), because of the Mexican-Texas border setting, modern times, and other thematic elements; but these comparisons are apt only on the surface. The engine of the movie draws on the potential of violence instead of violence itself. Instead of McCarthy's majestic prose, this story is full of irony and includes choppy jumps from the now to the past.

The border is a great setting for a story, as has been proved many times by McCarthy as well as other movies like Lone Star and Lonesome Dove. Along with McCarthy, the latter is also a pink elephant in the room during the flick. Lee plays an old salty rancher who doesn't have much to see, but beyond his seemingly impenetrable exterior has an intrinsic goodness. Very much like the Woodrow Call character he portrayed in the classic miniseries of the Larry McMurtry book. Those familiar with Dove may have difficulty seeing the distinction between the characters.

The film has a pleasant low-budget feel that doesn't jeopardize the presentation. I can't say the same for Dwight Yoakum who always seems to be creeping into small roles. I personally wish he would hop into his long, white, Cadillac and head back for Bakersfield rather than regaling us with wooden line readings that, in terms of stale badness, remind me of Hayden Christiansen's in the Star Wars flicks. Melissa Leo shows up as a promiscuous waitress. It took me a while to realize that she played Kay on Homicide...the skilled female detective of questionable sexual orientation. I didn't find her really heating up the screen here, but it may have been the indelible creepiness of Kay etched in my brain.

All in all, definitely worth checking out. In honor of Joe Bob Briggs: one breast, some mild hand-to-hand combat that couldn't masquerade for kung-fu, one reeking corpse.

Amnesty

My new pet issue, that allowing Iraqi warfighters (not terrorists) back into society over there is a completely logical thing to do, has found a supporter over at the National Review's Corner blog. He or she writes:

In the same way, if we capture Iraqis who are battling our troops they should be taken to Guantanamo so as to render them out of commission for the duration of hostilities, but I can't see why anyone would object to the Iraqi government supported by us giving amnesty to such people on condition that they not engage in warfare against the established order in the future. Attacks against our troops, even sneaky attacks, are not the same thing as wanton attacks against noncombatant civilians.

Both parties are turning this into a jingoistic political football and they're both wrong. Another post mentions the strategic benefits of this amnesty offer:

An amnesty proposal which focuses on dividing the opposition is a good idea. If you target the locals and give them a way to end their involvement with the insurgents, then you create a divide even if no one takes advantage of it. It creates a sense of doubt between the locals and the foreigners. If any of the locals lay down their arms they will also bring in a treasure trove of intel. They may or may not reveal the location of safe house or weapons cashes, but the fact that they might know and might talk means that those locations are compromised. The insurgency is much like the mob. It requires secrecy. It operates in the shadows. If a mobster turns states evidence and brings down a mob family, would granting him immunity desecrate the graves of fallen law enforcement?

If nothing else, this should bolster my purple cred.

Summer Grilling

I was reading an article about grilling outdoors that settled upon the ubiquitous question of gas vs. charcoal. I thought the answer , given by a bona fide chef, was put pretty well, "I acknowledge that gas grilling is easier, quicker, and safer, but for me, one fundamental reason I love grilling is the excitement that's born from the risk involved: With charcoal grilling, there's a big chance you'll ruin your dinner. I love the challenge of starting the perfect fire, and cooking over live coals is unpredictable and thrilling."

For me it's a no brainer - gas. Since my tastebuds are usually sullied by poisons like cigars and booze, I don't believe I could tell the difference in taste, so I'll take the simplicity of gas.

My pride, however, is in my grill. It was an inexpensive two-burner Home Depot model that I received as a birthday present seven years ago. It has received extensive use, we grill a couple of times a week, and suffered mightily at the hands of Texas weather. To me, it's the equivalent of a twenty year-old car that one is determined to keep running...usually with coat-hangers and duct tape.

1. The hinge fastening the top of the clamshell to the bottom of the clamshell failed. Replaced with random bolt from garage junk.

2. Ignition device failed during first month of use. I currently employ the spark-and-scare method of ignition whereby I spark the gas with a long lighter and it eventually explodes all around my face.

3. Multiple grate replacements as well as many of the other innards.

4. Wooden handle eventually fell to pieces due to exposure. Fashioned a new wooden handle out of random 1x2's from previously cited garage junk. Edges rounded with router. Spacers cut from same stock and attached with more random bolts from garage. Critical design error: bolts should have been counterbored (sunk below the level of the handle). As they now stand proud of the handle, they are heated internally by the grill to the temperature of molten ingots.

5. Shelves on either side of grill decayed due to said exposure. This was my piece de resistance. I had just renovated the master bathroom which involved pulling out the old countertop. I built a new countertop, but being a packrat, the old countertop was still laying around the garage. I occasionally put it on sawhorses to be used as an assembly station because grip drips and paint blotches are easily removed from the formica top (or at least that's the idea.) I keep all this garage junk because I, of course, think I might use it someday. In this case, I cut a notch in the old countertop to go around the grill and pretty much quadrupled the amount of shelf space available on the grill. It's not the prettiest thing in the world - a black grill with a 1967 Formica bathroom counter for a prep shelf, but it's terribly functional.

I think at this rate I can keep it running for another fifteen years or so.

Why the outrage?

The new Iraqi government today announced that it would consider granting amnesty to the so-called terrorists that had American blood on their hands. Then there's a flurry of denouncements saying they didn't mean to say it and/or it was taken wrong etc. I don't get the outrage here.

This is a war, as we are consistently reminded by the President. We were not invited to Iraq, but we're the most powerful nation in the world and we went anyway. Some people in Iraq didn't like this. Namely a bunch of Sunni Arabs that used to be the boss. I can see why they're pissed, but it is as impossible to conceive of the pissed off Iraqis forming a regular army and putting up a fight against mighty America as it is to think that Colonial America could field a regular army and defeat the most powerful country in the world. Certain situations require adjustment of tactics.

As I've said several times before, blowing up Humvees with remotely detonated bombs is warfighting...not terrorism. Sometimes civilians get killed, just like they did when we dropped two atomic bombs or fire-bombed Dresden, but if the target is military I can't see this as terrorism. Beheading journalists or killing Iraqis for buying mayonnaise is terrorism. So when has there even been a war in which the warfighters were permanently imprisoned? Of course they should get amnesty if they didn't commit war crimes.

Did we not allow imprisoned Vietnamese or Japanese or Germans to go back to their families? But this war will never have a Battleship Missouri moment, you say? What was to keep the Japanese, who had been suicide bombing American ships, from suicide bombing MacArthur's interim government in Tokyo?

Why the outrage?

The new Iraqi government today announced that it would consider granting amnesty to the so-called terrorists that had American blood on their hands. Then there's a flurry of denouncements saying they didn't mean to say it and/or it was taken wrong etc. I don't get the outrage here.

This is a war, as we are consistently reminded by the President. We were not invited to Iraq, but we're the most powerful nation in the world and we went anyway. Some people in Iraq didn't like this. Namely a bunch of Sunni Arabs that used to be the boss. I can see why they're pissed, but it is as impossible to conceive of the pissed off Iraqis forming a regular army and putting up a fight against mighty America as it is to think that Colonial America could field a regular army and defeat the most powerful country in the world. Certain situations require adjustment of tactics.

As I've said several times before, blowing up Humvees with remotely detonated bombs is warfighting...not terrorism. Sometimes civilians get killed, just like they did when we dropped two atomic bombs or fire-bombed Dresden, but if the target is military I can't see this as terrorism. Beheading journalists or killing Iraqis for buying mayonnaise is terrorism. So when has there even been a war in which the warfighters were permanently imprisoned? Of course they should get amnesty if they didn't commit war crimes.

Did we not allow imprisoned Vietnamese or Japanese or Germans to go back to their families? But this war will never have a Battleship Missouri moment, you say? What was to keep the Japanese, who had been suicide bombing American ships, from suicide bombing MacArthur's interim government in Tokyo?

Matching Fun

In a comment to an earlier post on third parties, I mentioned how I still support voting third party to allow for Matching Funds in the next election. After writing this, I realized I know next to nothing about public funding of elections. So I went to the FEC site and read the law...so you don't have to. Here's the salient passage:

Minor party candidates and new party candidates may become eligible for partial public funding of their general election campaigns. (A minor party candidate is the nominee of a party whose candidate received between 5 and 25 percent of the total popular vote in the preceding Presidential election. A new party candidate is the nominee of a party that is neither a major party nor a minor party.) The amount of public funding to which a minor party candidate is entitled is based on the ratio of the party's popular vote in the preceding Presidential election to the average popular vote of the two major party candidates in that election. A new party candidate receives partial public funding after the election if he/she receives 5 percent or more of the vote. The entitlement is based on the ratio of the new party candidate's popular vote in the current election to the average popular vote of the two major party candidates in the election.

So the more votes a third party gets in an election, the more public funding they merit and, therefore, the greater their ability to get the message out in subsequent elections. Since the amount they get is a function of the ratio of their votes to the average to the two major parties, a Democratic vote in Texas actually weakens third parties. Being a centrist, I'd prefer to place my bets outside the two poles with someone like the Unity Party.

In praise of boxer-briefs

I ran across this article about the pre-eminence of boxer-briefs among men's underwear options in Slate. The author traces the arc of his underpants, which closely mirrors my own. I started with briefs, moved to boxers, and have comfortably settled in with boxer-briefs. Why? From the article:

Support. The obvious, yet oft-unspoken flaw with traditional boxers is their lack of cuppage. They are useless for athletic events, and can even be a hindrance. (An acquaintance refers to the "tunnel" created by wearing boxers under soccer shorts. Via this tunnel, one's testicles can gain sudden and direct access to the world outside.) Boxer briefs hold your goods in place and out of sight.

Stability. Traditional boxers never sit still. They are forever riding up above the waistband of your pants, or slipping down below it. That loose fabric tends to twist, and bunch, and wedgify. Constant realignments are required. (This is especially true with the "bubble-butt" cut of boxer, which uses a spinnaker-like central back panel. The idea is to avoid having any seams line up with the butt-crack, but all that extra cloth just crawls up in there anyway, to disastrous effect.)

Containment. That simple slit of a fly on traditional boxers encourages a phenomenon I will term "flop-out." Some boxer shorts seek to rectify this with a button enclosure, but a button is the last thing you care to deal with when you urgently need to urinate. Boxer briefs use the much more effective and user-friendly Y-front.

Also mentioned in the article was the strange trend in the preppie era to allow the legs of (usually plaid) boxers to "peek out" below the bottom of one's shorts. Although I'm sure I was guilty of this sartorial offense, now I see it as quite disturbing. Is that any better than the current trend among teen hipsters to reveal the tops of their drawers by wearing their trousers low?

Purple Hope?

Peggy Noonan sees a potential groundswell emerging for a third party to cater to the purples out there. Money quote:

Their idea is that the two parties are too polarized to govern well. It is certainly true that the level of partisanship in Washington seems high. Nancy Pelosi seems to be pretty much in favor of anything that hurts Republicans, and Ken Mehlman is in favor of anything that works against Democrats. They both want their teams to win. Part of winning is making sure the other guy loses, and part of the fun of politics, of any contest, of life, can be the dance in the end zone.

She continues with the litany of concerns by many Americans that are not being met, from spending to security. Given her background and her paper, she is, of course, speaking largely to the current schism in the GOP. She doesn't feel it necessary to include the erosion of civil liberties as one of the current hot-button issues about which Americans are concerned. She also doesn't address the large uncommitted center that dislike Kennedy liberalism as much as the religious right or Bush-style incompetence. But I couldn't agree more that the time is ripe for a third option. She refers to a nascent web group called Unity '08 who has the following mission, "By electing a Unity Ticket to the White House, Unity08 plans to force the country’s Democratic and Republican leaders to cease their runaway focus on the issues of outlying special-interest groups and once again align with the aspirations and will of average Americans."

Sounds like an excellent idea where I may be able to find a home. I'll be following up.

Technology Update and Music Review

Were I to stumble upon Steve Jobs at the bar, I would genuflect and beg forgiveness for my dalliances with non-iPod/iTunes products.

Apparently these days one's second anniversary should be celebrated with mp3 players, not wood or tuna or whatever Letitia Baldrige would lead you to believe. My wife gifted me the iPod 60G clydesdale of the Apple stable. While the device itself is light years beyond others I've sampled (and returned only to have the replacement break again), it's the seamless marriage of iTunes software and the iPod that makes this work so well. I avoided Apple products for years because I'm fundamentally against proprietary-ness, but in this case I'm more than willing to live with it.

The iTunes music store is much more expansive than I expected. I've tried to trick it with very deep cuts and local bands and it has rarely disappointed (it doesn't have Tin Soldier by the Small Faces which I'm desperate to find.) Podcasts are readily availble and easily handled by both devices. I'm sure in the other world I'd have to visit multiple sites to get music, TV shows, videos, podcasts, and audiobooks, but in the world of iTunes they are all readily available and simple to acquire. So I'm looking at the frustration of Musicmatch, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Rhapsody, eMusic and the rest of their ilk in the rear view mirror. These clunky combinations with all the Windows friendly mp3s are way more hassle than even a moderately tech-friendly guy like me is willing to stomach. Also, the battery life if far superior and the styling is no contest.

So with that, I give you my first iTunes playlist (boringly titled iTunes Playlist1) composed exclusively of songs I've recently downloaded that I did not posess for whatever reason (in no particular order because I shuffle):

Sunday Morning Coming Down - Kris Kristofferson: Been there, dude...a lot. So spare (with the inimitable haunting Hammond B3) and evocative, one wit said you could smell the chicken frying. One of the most lonesome songs since Hank. "...and it echoed through the canyons like the disappearing dreams of yesterday."

Lawyers, Guns, and Money - Warren Zevon: If Hunter S. Thompson had written songs, he'd have penned this one. "Send lawyers guns and money, I'm a desperate man: I'm hiding in Honduras and the shit has hit the fan."

Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me - Warren Zevon: If it weren't for the piano, I'd recommend this song for Six Feet High and Rising...with Susanne singing (like the Ronstadt cover.) "She put me through some changes Lord, just like a Waring blender."

Reptile - The Church: Great catchy hook from underappreciated 80s band that reminds me of some of the great Stone Roses songs.

Hash Pipe - Weezer: I think I denigrated Weezer on a past post or comment as not worth the title of a band that got better with age (with the caveat that I loved Hash Pipe.) I've never owned it...now I do. I'm betting that Hash Pipe is some of their early stuff.

California Stars - Wilco with Billy Bragg: Kicked-up Woody Guthrie capturing the early 20th century ethos of the Golden State. Listen for the fiddle. "I'd like to dream my troubles all away on a bed of California stars."

I Got You - Split Enz: An 80's song that I never heard enough to get burned out on. For some reason I think of the Boomtown Rats.

She Took a Lot of Pills (and died) - Robbie Fulks: Alt-country kitsch. Found on the third installment of the great Insurgent Country set put out by Bloodshot Records. "Nothin' in the world seemed to matter to her so she took a lot of pills and died."

On a Plain - Nirvana: Straight up rock song that moves along like a locomotive. Not beat to death like the other songs on the baby in a pool album.

Loose - The Stooges: Perfect heir to the MC5 as my pre-punk band of the year. Massive bass-line with shock-value lyrics and Iggy taking you on a trip. More than serviceable cover by Alejandro Escovedo's punk side-project Buick McKane (who I saw open for Son Volt back in the day.)

I Am One - Smashing Pumpkins: I'm a bit prejudiced against this band because I see their fans as a bunch of overly pale girls with too-black hair, piercings and an air of vapid pomposity. Once you get past that, they can rock with anyone.

Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins: Just fucking rocks. Once you get the chorus in your head, "Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage," it will not leave.

Better Man - Pearl Jam: One of the most sing-alongable songs I've heard. I'm just now getting into the grunge scene. I hear Seattle is the next big thing.

Shambala - Three Dog Night: Great 70's pop that makes you want to howl along. This band had so many great songs and they see the benefit of a great organ...

Never Been to Spain - Three Dog Night: I get addicted to this song every five years or so since Bruce first played it for me in college. I fuck the lyrics up all the time, but you can't get it out of your head.

Hasselhoff Fix

Anyone needing their Hasselhoff fix should go here immediately. Big Dave with a leather suit, a giant boot, and a full orchestra elates his German audience with an inimitable version of the Glen Campbell gem, Rhinestone Cowboy. No shit.

Immigration

Even though I think much of the recent immigration hubbub is just smokescreen for a crumbling government, I'll weigh in:

Fence: What? We didn't have one? Sure, build a fence, we're a country for chrissakes. If I need a fence around my property, we should damn sure have one around our border.

National ID Card: Sounds like a fine idea, and don't just limit it to immigrants. As strongly as my civil libertarian streak is, this just doesn't frighten me. I have a passport and a driver's license and a SSN, so it seems to me we already have national ID cards. It seems to me that if you don't want identification, you're probably up to no good.

English as National Language: Don't agree. Blatant attempt to stir up xenophobia among rednecks. I agree that immigrants should learn English, but if they don't do we give them a ticket?

Deporting 12 Million People: Right, let's see that. Look at more pragmatic solutions, like the one Bush suggested that caused a schism in his party. Whatever you do, don't deport the guys that cut my grass.

Speaking of which, that didn't seem very savvy politically. Is Rove shivering in his boots about being indicted that he's lost his usual acute political perception? Bush's biggest problem right now is defectors from his own party, and then he comes out with his amnesty suggestion which is a handgrenade to party unity. I don't get it.

More Evidence Iran is the new Third Reich

Disturbing news out of Iran:

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.

Yipes. When is the Munich moment?

Must Eat Restaurant in Chicago

As many of you may know, Chicago is a bounty of good eats. The surprise of the trip came from a tip from a (frequent) patron of The Lodge on Division (Rush St. area). If you go to Chicago, you need to fight your way into Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinders. Order the Mediterranean Bread and individual Pizza Pot Pies. This was some of the best eatin' I've experienced...and I've eaten a fair bit.

I don't really even know how to explain the Pizza Pot Pie except amazing. Now, you're likely to wait a fair piece. The Maitre'd is a strange fellow that doesn't write names on a list, because he has the unique ability to recognize faces. Well, we were told an hour wait and luckily there was a friendly pub across the street, The Clark Bar, so we headed over there to return a little over an hour later. When we headed back, the wife MF'd her way to immediate seating. The rest was awesome eating. Highly recommended. Beware, cash only...which makes me think: I can't remember ever eating at a cash-only restaurant that wasn't fantastic.

Maps and Legends

Thanks to Mike D. for posting in my absence. Please feel free to keep posting.

I just returned from a very nice trip to Chicago. Upon arrival, I received this very interesting link to a site that builds upon some of the interesting maps from the 2004 election that poo-poo the idea of red and blue states by showing actual results adjusted for population density (or as purple, as I like to call myself.) These maps show the countries of the world adjusted in size for over 100 different indices like 2050 populataion, tobacco and alcohol exports, grain imports, and the like. Obviously the US doesn't show well for exports. The map I would really like to see would show net service exports where I think we would look pretty well...or maybe investment.

Car Ribbon Things

There are precious few things that I detest more than the fake magnetic yellow ribbons that adorn just about every car, and especially truck, in Texas. They all invariably say, "Support the Troops." My response, "Fuck you, you cretinous inbred. I'll support whomever I choose to support and no amount of redneck advertising is going to help." I don't understand the motivation for this sort of display any more than the motivation of people still driving around with Kerry-Edwards bumper-stickers. Is it a need to belong?

The troop ribbons could become much less incendiary to me if they would just preface their message with an "I". I would still harbor many of the same prejudices towards these folks, but I would not feel like I was being told what to do by the likes of them. "I support the troops." Good for you!

Of course these types of public displays always seem to generate cottage industries. Take the plastic bracelet craze. NASCAR now has plastic bracelets signifying something. My company handed out red bracelets to symbolize our "turnaround plan." I suppose by wearing them, we were supposed to experience more solidarity with the other poor saps. (n.b. I never wore one.)

I'm always heartened when trends reach this phase because it signifies the end-phase. And so it goes with the magnetic trunk ribbons. On my walk in from the parking garage today, I saw the familiar fake ribbon design on the back of an SUV. As I neared the vehicle, I could tell it was not yellow and it did not implore me to do anything. It was white and polka-dotted with basketballs. The only verbiage...I love basketball. I expect I'll soon see a magnetic ribbon announcing to the world that Dachshunds are the greatest dogs and that my money and my child go to Baylor. The bumper-sticker we all know will have been twisted around to make a ribbon bearing phrases no more innocuous than my best day working wasn't as good as my worst day fishing. I can't wait.

Chi-town

I'll be in Chi-town for a week, but I did manage to get one taker for some guest blogging. I'm hoping to be back and refreshed by the end of the month.

Wonderful Opportunity!

Due to vacation, training classes at work, and general drunkeness, my blogging volume has been severely impaired. Therefore I declare May to be guest-blogging month. Send me an email to steve_buck_1999@yahoo.com if you think you can churn out a couple of paragraphs a week (and who can't?) Pseudonyms are accepted (and encouraged.) The only technical skill required is the ability to type (although I'll be happy to show you how to link.) As you know, all subjects are fair game including overt works of fiction.

I'm planning on being back to full-steam on June 1, so this is a limited engagement. Wouldn't "Guest-Blogger" look great on your resume! Looking forward to hearing from somebody...anybody.

Iran and Opium

This article takes a serious look at life inside Iran. I had no idea Iran leads the world in Opium usage by percent of its population. As expected, this is because nobody has a job and two-thirds of the population is under 30. The article also explains how the current hardline rule sprung from this desperation.

Continuing the parallels evident between Iran and the Third Reich, this seems similar to Germany's situation after WWI when they were punished severely by the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler responded by giving everyone jobs rearming the country. Iran is responding by building nuclear weapons, which engenders a sense of pride in the otherwise forlorn population.

The author reports from the city of Shaft. I wonder if he planned that?

New LCD

No, not a new LCD TV - the press has unearthed a new Lowest Common Denominator and her name is Jordan Susch. Here's Jordan's story in her own words:

“I’m a true example of how Harry Potter books can open your life to witchcraft,” said Jordan Susch. Susch says she read the first Harry Potter novel when she was in the fourth grade. Two years later, she says, she and her friends were practicing witchcraft.“We wanted to know if spells, potions and curses worked. By the seventh grade, I was so depressed, I set a date to kill myself,” Susch said.

How's that for a logical leap? She was depressed because her curses didn't work? Or because she's an idiot with idiot parents. I feel very confident that if you are suicidally depressed, there's more to it than the Half-Blood Prince.

So of course, the answer in Georgia is to ban the books from the school library because of the Lowest Common Denominator. Luckily she's found common-cause with a busybody mother with too much time on her hands. Closed-minded parent Laura Mallory said, “I want to protect my kids, children and others from evil, not fill their minds with it.”

Let's hope she's shielding her precious children from other fiction containing evil witchcraft like turning water into devil-liquor.

Hu?

There was a protest today at a joint appearance by President Bush and Chinese president Hu Jintao (or somesuch). Some gal started hollerin' at Hu about persucuting the Falun Gong religious sect. Good for her, I thought as I read the story. It couldn't hurt for Hu to finally get a little lip as well. What pissed me off is that Bush "expressed personal regret to Chinese President Hu Jintao for a protest during an elaborate welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn Thursday." There should be 100,000 Chinese-Americans on the Capitol Mall tomorrow showing Hu what it's like to have some freedom.

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rumsfeld

I've been soaking up the recent public thrashings of Donald Rumsfeld by former Generals. The response from the White House and their proxies has been disingenuous, as usual. Claiming that there are 8000 Generals and only 6 have spoken out...therefore, Rummy's the man for 7994 Generals is statistically criminal.

However, the White House is in a serious pinch here. They should have taken Rummy out in 2004 when he offered to resign. Since then, Bush has done a swan dive in the polls. Firing Rumsfeld would mean Senate confirmations of a replacement...on TV every day. As bad as the news is for Bush as it is, this would be much worse as Democrats would seek to capitalize and Republicans would seek to distance. Bush has no choice but to keep Rummy on.

Tom Cruise Stays Relevant

If there was any doubt who would fill the Michael Jackson freak-out void in the news...

The Mission Impossible star, 43, said: "I'm gonna eat the placenta. I thought that would be good. Very nutritious. I'm gonna eat the cord and the placenta right there."

Who Moved My IED?

This post by Walter Kirn, substituting for Andrew Sullivan makes an interesting connection between vapid corporate sloganeering and the Iraq War. It's also well written and disparages my current professional vector (Six Sigma) which I like. He writes:

For Iraq, I blame the managers, of course, but I also blame their reading lists. More than once, while predicting victory, Donald Rumsfeld has used the magic words "Tipping Point." This new pop formula for achieving vast results from relatively limited efforts has turned out to be one disastrous abracadabra.

He goes on:

Behind every failed war is a failed metaphor (remember The Domino Effect, the Vietnam-era version of The Tipping Point?) that mesmerized its masters into waging it, kept them waging it once they started losing it, and immobilized them with disbelief when it turned back into intellectual smoke.Behind every failed war is a failed metaphor (remember The Domino Effect, the Vietnam-era version of The Tipping Point?) that mesmerized its masters into waging it, kept them waging it once they started losing it, and immobilized them with disbelief when it turned back into intellectual smoke.

I like that line "Behind every failed war is a failed metaphor..."

Musing on Idioms

We're all familiar with the idiomatic expression about a "wrench in the works" - meaning to screw up a plan. However, while listening to a Brit on some chat show the other day they referred to a "spanner in the works." I was aware that spanner was British for the American "wrench," but I was surprised to find an idiom that translated. One of the most difficult parts of learning any new language are idioms, because they infrequently jump languages. I guess it's a little easier in the situation at hand, because it's just jumping dialects.

I doubt that the expression "junk in the trunk," about large-assed women, translates to "junk in the boot" in England. Would Commander Cody sing about a "Lorry-drivin' Man?"

Back to the Bar

You can put the temperance movement on hold because it's safe to drink in bars in Texas again.

Chicago Intelligence Needed

The wife and I are planning an excursion to Chicago next month. We're interested if anyone has unique sites/restaurants/things to do while we're there. We'll probably knock out Wrigley and the Art Institute, but are curious if anyone has any deeper recommendations.

Detroit Dwarf City

If you were considering starting up an all-dwarf Kiss cover band, forget about it. It's been done. Twice. And there's some ill feeling between MiniKiss and TinyKiss with the potential for a mini-fistfight. I sense a reality show, but would it be Fox or MTV?

Wedge Issue Picks Up Steam

I was struck by the following headline and subhead in the LA Times today: "Christians Sue for Right Not to Tolerate Policies: Many codes intended to protect gays from harassment are illegal, conservatives argue."

The point the fringe religious right is making is that their religion requires them to speak out against homosexuality, and therefore a university regulation banning the harassment of gays is an infringement on their freedom of religious expression. Isn't this about like Islamists saying that their religion requires them to kill infidels, and therefore laws against murder are a abridgement of their freedom of religious expression? I can't see myself supporting anyone that uses religion to allow harassment of others, but I might support this: I'm sure there's some shit in the bible where God or Jesus or someone says to reap the bounty of the earth...therefore making a plant (pot) illegal limits my religious expression.

I was struck by the following headline and subhead in the LA Times today: "Christians Sue for Right Not to Tolerate Policies: Many codes intended to protect gays from harassment are illegal, conservatives argue."

The point the fringe religious right is making is that their religion requires them to speak out against homosexuality, and therefore a university regulation banning the harassment of gays is an infringement on their freedom of religious expression. Isn't this about like Islamists saying that their religion requires them to kill infidels, and therefore laws against murder are a abridgement of their freedom of religious expression? I can't see myself supporting anyone that uses religion to allow harassment of others, but I might support this: I'm sure there's some shit in the bible where God or Jesus or someone says to reap the bounty of the earth...therefore making a plant (pot) illegal limits my religious expression.

War On Christianity continues

I was struck by the following headline and subhead in the LA Times today: "Christians Sue for Right Not to Tolerate Policies: Many codes intended to protect gays from harassment are illegal, conservatives argue."

The point the fringe religious right is making is that their religion requires them to speak out against homosexuality, and therefore a university regulation banning the harassment of gays is an infringement on their freedom of religious expression. Isn't this about like Islamists saying that their religion requires them to kill infidels, and therefore laws against murder are a abridgement of their freedom of religious expression? I can't see myself supporting anyone that uses religion to allow harassment of others, but I might support this: I'm sure there's some shit in the bible where God or Jesus or someone says to reap the bounty of the earth...therefore making a plant (pot) illegal limits my religious expression.

French Roast

While I enjoy the popular uprising in general, I think the French protests and subsequent government cave-in over the jobs law shows a tragic shortsightedness. I don't think allowing employers the option to fire someone under 26 years old is a bad idea. They're slowly going to become more and more marginalized by their inability to complete, which is a result of their bloated welfare state. They have a stagnating economy, rising xenophobia and racism, and an inability to make hard decisions about the future of their country.

Boykin's Back

I might support Tom Delay's War on Christianity if it means we can get rid of characters like Gen. Earl Boykin. You may remember Earl as the guy who made a big splash a few years ago by cutting through the rhetoric and declaring the War on Terrorism to really be about good vs. evil. He went on to say basically that Islam was Satan.

In another episode described here, Boykin said he had proof positive that Satan was behind anyone taking up arms against America:

At several of his talks, he showed photos from the capital of Somalia, where he had commanded Delta Forces during the 1993 battle there. In the pictures, there were black streaks in the sky, photographic evidence, he said, of a "demonic spirit over the city of Mogadishu."

I'm thinking that we need to start fitting this guy for a straight jacket. President Bush thought he deserved to be promoted. And promote him he did...to a position where he had oversight of prisoners (in his mind, Satan's Soldiers) in Iraq. He apparently treated them much like you would expect.

So what now? Why, promote him again of course. Likely presidential candidate Sen. George Allen has put his name up to head all U.S. Special Ops. As noted in the Salon article linked above, it will be interesting to see if Faust McCain stays true to his anti-torture roots and votes against this cat, or if he continues to cave in to the religious right because of his presidential fever.

Birth of a Wedge Issue

This article describes how in the wake of the immigration protests, a school in San Diego has banned patriotic clothing and flags. This is how wedge issues are born. I would expect to hear some flag-waiving politicians demagoging this issue in the next day or so. The midterm elections will surely depend on something insignificant like this.

Enemies of Virtue

Delay, paragon of virtue, uttered the following in a speech last week on his so-called War on Christianity (via Sullivan): "Sides are being chosen, and the future of man hangs in the balance! The enemies of virtue may be on the march, but they have not won, and if we put our trust in Christ, they never will ... It is for us then to do as our heroes have always done and put our faith in the perfect redeeming love of Jesus Christ."

After atheists were declared worse marriage potential than Muslim immigrants, how can he say there's a War on Christianity with a straight face? I smell the GOP wedge issue du jour for the 2006 Congressional elections. We will be hearing a lot more about the contrived War on Christianity. I'm interested in how much of it we will hear from John "Faust" McCain.

Permanent Delay

I'm obviously overjoyed about the Delay resignation. He's always been a noxious melange of hubristic bullying with religious extremism: my two least favorite characteristics in a politician. However I have no doubt that he will play the martyr card so well, it would make Osama jealous. Some very frightening foreshadowing from Time, "[Delay] vowed to pursue an aggressive speaking and organizing campaign aimed at promoting...Republican candidates and a closer connection between religion and government." Ugh.

For any even modest admirer of the enigmatic songwriter Townes Van Zandt, the film "Be Here to Love Me" is a must watch (available from NetFlix here). Even without the great music culled from rare footage of live performances in various folks' living rooms, the movie would stand on its own just for the stories recounted by his many great friends (including the likes of Joe Ely, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and especially Guy Clark.) No narrator is necessary to move the documentary along: this story is woven together efficiently by editing the many interviews to describe the action on the screen.

To those somewhat familiar with Townes life, he is accurately painted as alternatively engaging and frightening, and capable of just about anything. An example is the story of him falling off a four story balcony on purpose, just to see what it would feel like at the moment he started to fall.
This rare glimpse into Townes' day-to-day life, albeit liquor soaked, provided insight into his sense of humor and personable nature, giving lie to the usual description of him as perpetually depressed (granted, he is depressed quite a bit.) After watching Be Here to Love Me, you come away knowing that this was a giving man, whose cup runneth over with friends and family. But mostly you see a different breed of cat, whose single-minded devotion to his songcraft left him perpetually just a little out of touch with reality (the liquor and drugs didn't help his grasp of reality either).

The DVD contains some interesting extras including live performances and extended interviews with friends and family.

Flag Woes

The Mexican flag has been at the center of much of the controversy surrounding this week's immigration demonstrations around the country. The snap-judgment goes like this: what's the logic in waving the flag of the country you're trying to get away from? Or more crudely: if you like Mexico so much, why don't you go back? But I think these people miss the point. The Mexican flag is simply being used as a symbol of their heritage...and that happens to offend some people. Much like Southerners claim the Confederate flag is a symbol of their heritage...and it offends people. Why do I feel the people complaining loudest about the Mexican flag are the same people defending the Confederates?

Polygamy Debate

Being a fan of freedom of choice, my position on the polygamy debate is: do whatever you want, as long as it's legal and doesn't mess with me. But, frankly, I'd never seriously considered it much. This article by Jonathan Rauch, a good writer to whom I've linked before regarding introversion, has this thoughtful piece that I'm not sure I agree with, but is worth reading nonetheless. His point is that polygamy will ultimately destroy a society because the ratio of available women to available men goes all cattywampus.

The social dynamics of zero-sum marriage are ugly. In a polygamous world, boys could no longer grow up taking marriage for granted. Many would instead see marriage as a trophy in a sometimes brutal competition for wives. Losers would understandably burn with resentment, and most young men, even those who eventually won, would fear losing. Although much has been said about polygamy's inegalitarian implications for women who share a husband, the greater victims of inequality would be men who never become husbands.

He goes on to cite sources that claim societies with more men than women are governable only by tyrannies that export these "bare branches" in search of war. This article approaches the debate from a strange angle that I had never considered. It also claims that same-sex marriage is generally a stabilizing force in society while polygamy is destabilizing.

I oppose polygamy where the women cannot act of their own free will (which Dick Logan, our correspondent in Utah, claims is the usual variety.) I don't think polygamy is going to really catch on when all parties are acting out of their own free will, and therefore I doubt we would ever reach the tipping point ratio referred to in this article.

Live Shows

After a night of playing trivia I've retired to the porch to drink a few more beers and listen to some music. I've chosen a live CD by Joe Ely tonight. It sent me thinking about live shows, as Joe Ely is probably the best live performer I've ever seen (next to Six Feet High and Rising of course.)

I've seen some great shows, but I'm interested in your best concert experiences. For me, it's mostly small venue shows, as I feel arena shows are dehumanizing. Here's a few that are especially memorable:

Joe Ely at Mayfest in Fort Worth about 2001: If this guy can get this crowd going, he's capable of anything.

Uncle Tupelo at Liberty Lunch in Austin about 1992: first show at which I was high, plus it was my favorite all time band...transcendent.

Toots and the Maytals at Liberty Lunch in Austin (~1988): man I was shitfaced and almost got my ass whipped marching to the front. Backup singers were amazing.

Devo at the Backroom in Austin (~1990): I had a headache but one of my favorite all-time bands jammed my way through it.

Gourds at Barleyhouse in Dallas (1997): during my non-drinking phase, but still great.

True Believers at Eastchase Live in College Station (1987): because of a storm, Alejandro and the boys were about two hours late but still rocked the shit out of the crowd of about 10.

Son Volt at Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas (~1994): what a great joint for a show, I think Toby got a signed poster. They can never go wrong closing with Chickamauga.

Ramones and Social Distortion at the Bronco Bowl in Dallas (1993): two powerhouse bands at an amazing venue.

I'm sure I'm leaving out dozens of shows, but the dates bespeak the fact that I haven't seen a good show in a while. I saw the Gourds a couple of years ago at the Wreck Room in FW and they were good, but I really haven't been a live music guy lately. Let me hear your stories. Toby, don't forget the Simple Minds concert at Reunion in 85 or so.

McCain Sellout Watch Part III

More evidence that McCain is selling out his maverick image in favor of the same groups that burned him at the stake in 2000. I don't think you can rely on him to speak his mind any more.

Busy week

I've had limited time for posting this week, I'm learning about intercorrelation and multi-collinearity. But I have an interesting story on immigration. Yesterday in downtown Fort Worth we had what passes as a protest here. There was about a thousand Mexican teenages marching through the streets and howling. As is usual for downtown Fort Worth, there was also a large police presence: horseback, bikes, cars, and on foot.

I was following the protestors around just for kicks and all of the sudden cops came screaming from all directions. I arrived at Fifth and Main, nexus of the problem (and location of my friendly tobbaconist.) Apparently some girl took a swing at a female cop on a bike. Next, her boyfriend took a swing at a male cop on a bike. It wound up worse for the male, because the cop threw him through the window of a parked truck. I missed the actual cop-protestor violence, but saw them get arrested and saw the truck get towed. The cops quickly diverted all traffic to avoid any rioting. It was nice to see the horseback cops finally have to do some real work.

Anyway, I'm not sure how much good the protest march did for the cause. The violence probably caused a whiplash effect.