Morals or Work?

12 Democrats voted for the bill that passed yesterday. 32 against. There are a total of 17 Democratic Senators up for re-election in just over a month and a good number of that 12 are up for re-election. So, why should they be re-elected? Speaking out against the President all these years and now all of a sudden they agree with him? They don't deserve to be re-elected.

SEFORA

No, I didn't spell it wrong, and it's not the cosmetics store. It's Scientists and Engineers FOR America, a new 527 started by a group of prominent scientists and engineers (who'd a thunk it?) to remove scientific bias from the current political landscape. Read about SEFORA in the NYTimes, then sign up, and fight the good fight!

Bury the Hatchet

I've had my issues with Bruce Schneier in the past, but I think he's dead on with this post. If only more people were able to grasp this logic, particularly those in positions to right some of these wrongs...


You would see if/
only/
you hadn't taken things/
out of/
my hands

Chew on That!

A great quote the Mr. Rollins pointed me to:

"In the last analysis, terrorism is an idea generated by capitalism to justify better defense measures to safeguard capitalism."

The link is not the full article, just some snippets -- the full article is not yet online. If anyone has a copy and can scan and send it, please do.


It was you Dad! I learned it by watching you!

Saddam in the Hall

Read the article, and the title will make sense.

Mark McKinney should be rolling over this one. KITH is now part of the lexicon of global politics!


I like small people...they make me feel big

Five Years In The Making

I'll be happy when today is over, but that's only partly because reliving all of this is making me sick. The other part is: I just want to be able to watch television again without having to navigate through 900 channels, all showing September 11-related programming. It's fucking pitiful -- the worst tragedy that you and I will ever know in our lifetimes has been turned into a goddamned spectacle, fodder for TV movies no more sacred than JonBenet Ramsey or Elian Gonzales or the Y2K bug. If there is anything that hurts worse than remembering what life was like before that day, what it was like to have your entire life no longer make sense in the span of a minute, is that greedy, maniacal sonsofbitches have used it to further their powermad greedlust. And don't read too much into that, because I'm not just talking about the Bushes or any of their cohorts -- I mean everyone who has used the grief, terror, horror, and tragedy of September 11 for any reason other than respectful rememberance.

This rant is already getting longer than I wanted it to, so let me wrap up with some interesting reading for today:

• NYT has a great editorial on what September 11th means five years later and where we've come to


• Bill Maher has a good piece in the LAT about comedy in the face of tragedy and how it relates to the broader issue of truth vs. FUD


• Here's a reproduction of an e-mail from a friend of mine 3 days after September 11, recounting his experiences that day in lower manhattan. Still painful to read, to remember how raw everything felt back then

No more for now. Too much already.

Confusion or Is it just Me?

I don't know. Sometimes I wish I could move to a deserted island. Perhaps it's the wine, but I don't think so, since sobriety doesn't change my feelings.

Why do people say things that just don't make sense, then proceed to give no explanation for the remark and then expect us all ot fall in line? Are we, as a whole, that fucking stupid?

Take, for instance, the following examples:

• Speaking about today's shuttle launch, Griffin (or Goofball, as I call him) called the launch majestic. Why is it majestic? In fact, why is it any different than any other shuttle launch (with two exceptions)? Is it because it finally took off after an almost two week delay? In my book, that doesn't change anything.


• While discussing the war on terror and the president's upcoming 5-year September 11 anniversary speech, Dan Bartlett says that the enemy believes that Iraq is part of the war on terror. Hmmm...that's interesting. How do they know -- are they talking to the enemy? I thought we had a policy of not talking to the enemy, just blowing them up (as will happen with Iran ASAP).


• Dcik Cheney claims that it's no accident that we haven't had a domestic terrorist attack in four years. OK... well, by my count, we went almost 60 FUCKING YEARS without a domestic terror attack. And while admittedly I have less visibility into what happens in the upper eschelons of American government that mr. Cheney, I was not aware of any special precautions being taken. And while we're kind of on the subject, does anyone feel any safer? I agree that the probability of another similar attack (i.e. one using airplanes) is probably lower, does that mean that other types of attacks are less likely? Are we more prepared for or defensive against other types of attacks? Given what we have all seen so far in terms of the 'warnings' we've been handed in the past five years, I tend to think not.

So really...is it just me? Do they believe that we'll just believe this shit? FUCK NO! Question authority. Be skeptical. Perform your Constitutional Duty. Be an asshole!

BTW, Beerfest was hilarious. Highly recommended. Oh yeah, and am I the only one who likes the warm feeling in the tummy that alcohol gives? Yea, I didn't think so.

Peace all.

-Dr. Duke Nukem, Ph.D. Esq.


I wish it was winter so that we could make big ice blocks out of it and skate on it and then when spring came it would melt and we could drink it!