Poor Citizenship 19 | ***Dave Does the Blog

Unblogged Bits (Mon. 18-Jul-11 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Who Benefits from the Mortgage Interest Program? – People who deduct their mortgage interest? Yup, that’s a “government benefit” and “social engineering”. It’s just a “general welfare” program that benefits the middle and upper classes more, and thus is seen as an “entitlement” by the movers and shakers. (One I’m happy to take advantage of, to be sure.)
Liberty Counsel: Abuses By Obama “Exceed Those Of The King Of Great Britain” Causing American Revolution – King George III is the new Hitler.
Is Marriage Equality Scarier Than War? – Mr Richey seems to think that recognizing gay marriages means he has to be gay, or marry gays, or be pro-gay. None of which, in fact, is true, but it makes for some great, scary sermons.
Hagee: U.S. Can’t Win Wars Because Of Satan Worship – Hagee demonstrates that his knowledge of military history is just as goofy as his knowledge of the Constitution and comparative religions.
Borders to liquidate remaining stores – Jul. 18, 2011
Harry Potter Still Harmful
REPORT: Murdoch Considering Stepping Down As News Corp. CEO: Travis Waldron
Kids’ lemonade stand shuttered by police chief – This is why we can’t have nice things.
From Google’s “in-house philosopher,” a beautiful credo in defense of studying the humanities « The Teeming Brain – Huzzah for the humanities!
First Openly Gay Federal Judge Confirmed | ThinkProgress – Wow. Must have caught the Senate GOP on a mellow day.
That Wonder Woman Pilot: No wonder this didn’t get picked up – Wow. I have a morbid desire to see the finished product — but sounds like it’s just as well we didn’t see it broadcast.
mental_floss Blog » Plus: Grading Systems

Unblogged Bits (Mon. 11-Jul-11 2331)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

DOJ Trusts Wall Street To ‘Police Itself’ As It Takes A ‘Softer Approach’ To Corporate Crime – Best government money can buy.
House Republicans Look To Push Lower Capital Standards For Banks In Through The Back Door – Because why should we ever worry about banks undercapitalizing again? I mean, it’s been a couple of years now — I’m sure they’ve learned their lesson, after all.
Firefighter loses bid to sue over New York mosque | World | News | Toronto Sun – Injury to the ability to commemorate? Crikey. If having a mosque a few blocks away damages your ability to commemorate the lives of your colleagues lost on 9/11, I suggest you seek therapy, not a court injunction.
AZ State Senator Points Loaded Gun At Reporter – So will we actually hear the NRA criticize this pol for her appalling lack of gun safety?
Fred Upton Pushes Vote to Kill His Own Light Bulb Efficiency Standards – Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.
Wingnut Camper Art Project Shares How-To Secrets For Sexing Obama – Wow, that’s … that’s … actually not all that different from the rhetoric one’s heard all over the Right in the past 2-3 years. Simply in special concentrate form (just add water).
July 11, 2011 – Simply the Best – Well, if you can do the latter, why worry in the least about the former?
Obama: “I Have Bent Over Backwards To Work With Republicans” – But … why?
$140 Google eBooks reader, iriver Story HD, hits stores July 17 – I remain happy with my Kindle — but I’ll note both this and the recent Nook ads show those platforms with home screens more attractive and useful than the Kindle’s …
Feature: Leaks, riots, and monocles: how a $60 in-game item almost destroyed EVE Online – Games are like societies writ intense. Screw with the economy, and folks get antsy, to say the least. Present them with a situation that seems unfair, and they will, metaphorically or literally, riot.
First Footage & Posters For ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’ – Woot!
Please Don’t Put Fireworks Through a Coffee Grinder. They’ll Blow Up [Wtf] – /facepalm
This Freaky Optical Illusion Turns People Into Horrible Monsters [Video] – Majorly freaky!
Chile Might Soon Recognize Same-Sex Civil Unions – If the GOP take back the White House, maybe they’ll stage another coup in Chile to prevent it.
Arizona State Rep. Points Her ‘Raspberry-Pink’ Loaded Gun At Journalist | ThinkProgress – Lovely.
Colo. pot proposal faces another legal challenge – The Denver Post – If something becomes legal and taxable and taxed … is that actually a tax increase?
Misleading Missouri Measure: Amendment Harms, Not Helps Religious Liberty « The Wall of Separation

Unblogged Bits (Thu. 7-Jul-11 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Unaccompanied Minor – Kitten gets to fly home on her own (with dropoff and pickup) on Saturday. Coolness!
New! Pick your favorite inbox style – Official Gmail Blog – Some cool options … and an interface that learns your behavior. Nice.
Barack Obama Tears Down Reagan-Era Tree
Richard Dawkins Torn Limb from Limb—By Atheists – Look! Human Skeptics are Humans! May contain 15-48% rationality, with the rest made up of emotions, hormones, and cultural conditioning! Throw in an Internet flame war, and, hey-presto!
Love, Hell, Consciousness, and the (Current) Impossibility of ‘Church Unity’ – Waving or Drowning? – ‘Just yesterday I had a spiritual conversation with an old friend, and I shared with him my growing discontent with the label ‘Christian’. So you’re a Christian. That really doesn’t tell me anything about your faith. Are you a “torture is OK against bad people” kind of Christian, or a “Jesus was a pacifist” kind? A “God hates homosexuals” kind, or a “God loves everyone” kind? And now we can add a believer in “eternal conscious torment” or in “Rob Bell’s idea of hell” to the list.’
IKEA will put a 550-seat restaurant in Centennial — but Casa Bonita is bigger! – Denver Restaurants and Dining – Cafe Society – Yes, but I actually WANT to go to IKEA, whereas I’d much rather suffer a coronary to get out of going to Casa Bonita ever again. At least not until I have grandkids. In, oh, 20 years or so.
Denver’s five best plates of fried-chicken – Including White Fence Farm! Kay will be so pleased …
Prison Ships, Ghost Prisoners, and Obama’s Interrogation Program – Because we are, of course, the Good Guys, which excuses all evils. Right?
Trying . . . not . . . to . . . pop a vein . . . . – Yeah, let’s stick it to the poor, the consarned parasites!
Rep. Paul Broun compares Progressives to Al-Qaeda – Dolt.
Debt Ceiling News: Pelosi, Democrats, broad array of groups object to including Social Security-Medicare cuts in talks – Glad to see someone on the Dem side has the balls to say no.
Supreme Court Ignores International Law By Denying Stay Of Execution – SIGH
Google vs Microsoft vs Apple
Clarence Thomas and *The Fountainhead* – sigh
Does Michelle Obama Know About This? – Ah, the old HOA/City Garden Code strikes again. We only want grass! And flowers! And we want you to bounce your ball STRICTLY IN TIME with all the other kids on the block here in Camazotz City!
I Flunked My Social Media Background Check. Will You? [Privacy] – Interesting …
Early Buzz: ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2′ – Glee!

Unblogged Bits (Thu. 7-Jul-11 1730)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Five myths about NASA – The Washington Post – I’m sure all of those things could have been accomplished by simply offering huge government contracts to ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs, or Blackwater. Who needs pointy-head NASA Star Trek stuff?
What’s after the Hubble space telescope? Possibly nothing – Who needs those dadgummed scientifical pictures? We already have all the pretty astronomical photos for our computer desktops we need!
New York Same-Sex Couples May Not Be Able To File Taxes Jointly – I’m sure conservatives will be shocked and outraged by how the Federal Government is interfering with a state’s sovereign rights this way.
Bachmann’s Parable For The Poor: Have Faith In God And You Won’t Need Welfare – Pray to God, have faith, and eat cake! (Yeesh.)
reblog: redonly: Convair B-58 Hustler (3941 x 3176 pixels) – Always loved this jet.
Groundbreaking Study Shows Benefit Of Medicaid – “People who receive Medicaid coverage report better overall health and less financial problems as a result of unpaid medical bills than individuals who don’t have insurance, a new bipartisan study has concluded.” But, of course, we can’t afford it because ExxonMobil executives need to be able to depreciate their corporate jets faster. Oh, well …
Graham: We Should Capture Suspected Terrorists In Order To Interrogate Them Indefinitely – Arf wif their ‘eads!
News of the World to close amid phone-hacking scandal – I’m sure Murdoch figures he’ll pick up most of the readership elsewhere, and if it gets he and his out of criminal investigations and further scandal, it’s a cheap dodge.
The World’s Most Powerful Laser Will Create Tiny Stars on Earth [Monster Machines] – Fusion! Cool!
Why aren’t the Democrats rebelling? – SIGH
Chase Gets Man Thrown In Jail For Fraudulent Check. Except The Check Is Legit. – Of course they haven’t apologized — that would mean taking responsibility, which might mean having to actually make good for their actions.
A 1939 guide for women in Manhattan – Holy Kaw! – This one’s for Kate …
GOP Congressman: House Republicans Have Privately Discussed Impeaching Obama Over Debt Ceiling | ThinkProgress – Stay classy, GOP.
ABC Licenses ‘All My Children’ And ‘One Life To Live’ To Prospect Park; Shows Will Continue Production And Move Online – Deadline.com – INNNNteresting.

Unblogged Bits (Sat. 2-Jul-11 1130)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

snopes.com: Kulula – Flying 101 – Fun.
Tommy Gun: For Shooting Dangerous or Delicious Animals: Robert Farley
PA Gov. Corbett Slashes Education and Health Care, Refuses To Tax Natural Gas Drilling – Best government money can buy …
BP Is Holding Gulf Restoration Process ‘Financially Captive’: Guest Blogger
DOJ: Court Should Not Dismiss Karen Golinski’s Health Benefits Claim, Should Instead Find DOMA Unconstitutional – Poliglot – That’s pretty darned big news (albeit timed to be hidden by the holiday weekend).
JP Morgan Calls For Corporate Tax Break That JP Morgan Analysts Found Won’t Work – ” Congress already tried such a holiday in 2004.The companies that benefited most wound up cutting jobs, and companies started stowing even more money offshore in anticipation that another repatriation holiday could be wrung out of Congress.”
Quote of the moment: John Adams, celebrating the 2nd of July – “The Second Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. . . . It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” Though, with the high fire risks in so much of the country, I suggest we refrain this year a bit from the Bonfires and Illuminations.
Team John Jay – Jay’s an interesting guy. Like all of the Founders, he refuses to be put into a simple ideological box. There are things he did that were admirable, others I disagree with. Why we want to have the Founders as some sort of monolithic set of demogods who deigned to create the perfect nation for us — a concept they, themselves, would have been appalled by — is beyond me. Heroes? Sure, albeit with more than a few feet of clay. People to admire, to study, to consider and remember? Definitely. But attempts to both deify them and to scrub their records are not only unworthy of the freedom they fought for, but dangerous besides.
It’s Reagan’s party no more – “Or more to the point, doesn’t it bother Republicans, just a little, that Barack Obama is more in line with the Reagan legacy than they are?” It sure bothers the Democrats …
Pawlenty and the line that cannot be crossed – The fact that Reagan could never be nominated — let alone elected — in today’s GOP makes the situation even more laughworthy (or sad).
The Craig T. Nelson problem – Of course, one could see this, in perspective, as a sign of how we’re all in this together, how we all help one another as an organized society over the rough spots, promoting the general welfare and acting as a unified nation. Unfortunately, that idea is anathema to the “I got mine, you go pound sand” devotees of Ayn Rand.
When a party refuses to consider bipartisanship – It’s difficult to tell whether the GOP are simply being gone crazy, or if they figure by staking out increasingly extreme positions they can wangle increasingly extreme “compromises.” Neither bodes well.
The discontent of the GOP elder statesmen: Steve Benen
Bill Bennett Explains Why Freedom Is Slavery – Do I particularly want an incremental increase in public intoxication and the attendant safety issues? No. But as a trade-off from the massive costs of the pot-based War on Drugs? Sure. We know how to manage public intoxication, etc.; we do it now with the very legal but regulated alcohol industry. To argue that the sky will fall if pot is legalized (or decriminalized) is ludicrous.

Unblogged Bits (Wed. 11-May-11 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Forward This Graph to Anyone You Know Blaming Obama for High Gas Prices | Firedoglake
Bin Laden’s (Fictional) Mountain Fortress – Brainiac – Plus it had a bridge over a pool of piranha that he could dump people into!
Rand Paul: If You Believe In A Right To Health Care, ‘You Believe In Slavery’ – Spoken like a true disciple of Ayn Rand.
Presbyterian Church Lifts Ban On Gay And Lesbian Clergy – Well done, Presbyterians.

Unblogged Bits (Wed. 11-May-11 1730)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

After approving NBC buyout, FCC Commish becomes Comcast lobbyist – Best government money can buy!
Buffalo Man Living Next To Mosque Puts Sign On Lawn: “Bomb Making Next Driveway” – Dolt.
Ohio State Rep Wants To Ban Abortion Because China Has Too Many Smart Kids – Um, I don’t think there’s any chance we can (assuming we even should) seek to rival China’s birth rate and population. Leaving aside, of course, the plain fact that Rep. Martin is simply casting about for a justification for his position.
Historians Agree: David Barton Is No Historian – “His game is to inundate public policy makers (including local and state education boards as well as Congress) with ideas packaged as products that will move policy.”
Colson Warns Of The Creeping Influence Of Ayn Rand In The Conservative Movement – Wow. I never thought I’d stand whole-heartedly behind anything Chuck Colson would say, but I do here.
Newt Gingrich Is Just Like King David – “So it is pretty obvious that ‘family values’ leaders will do what is necessary to come up with ways to justify supporting Gingrich despite his history …” When you believe in absolutes, you learn to contort yourself around them mightily.
$30K Raised For Man Charged With Assisting Lisa Miller – Feel the hate …
Play Angry Birds Online, Right Now, for Free [Google]: Mike Fahey
Four things you should know about LastPass – Computerworld Blogs – A much better article than the Bloomberg alarums that were going around earlier today.
Why Skype? Microsoft confirms $8.5 billion purchase, clarifies nothing – It does seem a bit odd, at that price, with those plans.
Newt in His Own Words: 33 Years of Bomb-Throwing – Well, it should certainly be a colorful campaign.

Unblogged Bits (Thu. 28-Apr-11 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Video Chat on Your Android Phone – Which would be cool, if the camera and the screen on my Android phone pointed in the same direction.
Are Trump and the birthers hypocrites? Racists? – Nice …
Letter from George Washington to an annual meeting of Quakers – Particularly given the persecution of Quakers in most of the colonies, I see nothing here that doesn’t sound like Washington would apply it to any religious faith.
David Barton on Thomas Jefferson – Did Jefferson approve church in the Capitol? – Sounds like an exercise in fellowship more than ministry to my eyes.
John Yoo Discusses Limits to Executive Power – The guilty man flees where no one pursueth.
Too cute Disney Duck Picture (Not Donald) – TEH CUTE! (And I know exactly where that is.)
Wingnut Mob Now Boycotting Superman, Because He Hates America – Yeah, there’s no surprise. No actual examination of the storyline, nor even consideration of what the statement might be about. Yeah, cause that’s “nuance.”
Oh look. The Birthers are already playing with the new toy President Obama gave them. – I think it was probably a reasonable timing to convince Hawaii to make an exception to provide the long form birth certificate. But the point was not so much to shut up the birthers (who are so deranged that they’ll come up with new conspiracy theories) as to finally put paid to the “why doesn’t he show his birth certificate?” crap. Which, one would hope, would further discredit (to the rest of the nation) the whole right-wing zaniness that is birtherism.
Facebook shoots first, ignores questions later; account lock-out attack works (Update X) – Ah, the joys of active management of an Internet monoculture.
Rick Santorum: U.S. Shirking Its Responsibility To Fight “Militant Socialism” – The Red Menace is back!
Ayn Rand and the Conservative Contradiction – “Any politician or media figure who claims to be an admirer of both Rand and Jesus is either hopelessly confused or an out-and-out liar.”
Oklahoma GOPer: It’s A Fact That ‘Blacks’ Don’t Work As Hard | TPMDC – Stay classy, Oklahoma GOP!
Letter from Mark Twain to a snake oil peddler – Lovely.
The Only Thing You Can Do Legally If You’re on the Terror Watch List Is Buy a Gun [Gun Control] – The only rights the Right wouldn’t be willing to take from even terrorists.
The Ancient Japanese Tsunami Stones Kept Villagers Alive [Japan] – It’s fashionable to poke fun at tradition and ancient community wisdom. And there’s sometimes reason for that. But it’s worth at least considering they might know what the heck they were talking about …
Facebook Games Could Be Responsible For Demise Of Soap Operas – Innnteresting. Not quite sure whether that’s a good thing (interaction!) or a bad thing (Facebook Games!).
Watching Shows On DVR Might Save Them From Being Canceled – This is good news. Especially since I rarely watch TV shows any other way.
E.T. call waiting – SETI just costs $2.5MM? Damn, I’ll bet I could find that money in about 15 minutes in the federal budget.
Sarah Palin Mocks Katie Couric For Leaving CBS – Stay classy, Ms. Sarah!

Unblogged Bits (Mon. 25-Apr-11 1130)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Star Trek Peter David Takes Fans Down Blind Man’s Bluff – Pleased to see the next “New Frontiers” series coming out — and sad to hear it may be the last.
BREAKING: John Boehner’s $5 Million Attorney Drops DOMA Defense – I’m sure this will be spun as gay thugs intimidating the law.
Rules for golfing during the blitz – I suspect this is bogus, but it’s funny nonetheless.
Bible-Quoting Billboards for the Atheist Crowd – Actually, I think it would be worthwhile to have these sorts of billboards up. It might actually engender some conversation about what folks accept or reject from the Bible, why, and how that might apply to other subjects.
All Trump Everything – “Mounting a presidential campaign has always been a great way get pet issues into the media spotlight. That works especially well when your pet issue is yourself being in the media spolight.”
When Officials Consider Democracy a Problematic Inconvenience – The Washington Monthly – Remember how the Right used to claim that local control of things was the true American way?

Unblogged Bits (Wed. 20-Apr-11 1130)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Ayn Rand’s New Religion for the Righteous – Remember when people were appalled (or at least pretended to be) by G Gordon Gecko’s “Greed is Good” mantra?
DORK TOWER, Wednesday, April 20, 2011 – Yes.
Top Republicans Embarrassed By Birthers; – This is one of those cases where, on the one hand, I’m gleeful that GOP tactics are biting them in the butt, but on the other hand those tactics have still had a toxic effect on the political and social system we all have to live in.
Walking Dead billboard on funeral parlour: Now that IS product placement! | Mail Online – Now THAT’s comedy.
Heaven – Heh.
The Gospel according to Ayn Rand – On Faith – The Washington Post – I’m trying to figure out how Ryan can claim that Ayn Rand was the basis for him entering public service — since “public service” would seem to be, by definition, not part of Rand’s philosophy.
Obama’s signing statement is wrong – “There’s no denying that Obama has been inconsistent on signing statements. But conservatives who profess to want fewer Obama ‘czars’ might start by calling on Republicans to stop exploiting that dysfunction to grind the nominating process to a halt.”
Big business to Republicans: stop screwing around – You’d think that might have an effect, wouldn’t you?
Lake Powell drought ended? Don’t trust the warming denialists’ predictions – People seem always willing to cherry-pick the one anomaly that proves their case, vs the trends that disprove it.
Harvey And LaBarbera Accuse LGBT Community And Glee Of Using “Demonic Manipulation” To Make Kids Gay – FEAR! FEEEEEARRRRR!!
Philco PC – DO WANT.
Euthanasia coaster: assisted suicide by thrills – Well, I suppose if you gotta go, there are worse ways.
Florida Gives Handout To The Jobless…Superhero Capes Costing $73,000 – So … by wearing bright red capes they might receive spontaneous job offers? Or what? (At least they might have made the capes long enough to sleep underneath, for some of those jobless …)
New Ad In Maine Fights Conservatives’ Attempts To Rollback Child Labor Protections – Wow. Some Republican legislator is actually framing getting rid of child labor laws as protecting parental rights. Dolt.
The Big Thirst: The Secret Revolution In U.S. Water Use – Actually, there’s actually some good news in here.
Printing your boarding card out REALLY BIG: Cory Doctorow
Reality Check – To summarize, science is real because it works, it’s self-policing, and it tells us “inconvenient truths.”
Japan Ends Whaling Program! – There’s some good news.
Tom Baker Newsletter | Latest news | Lis Sladen | Sarah Jane
Trumped – Well, that’s rather depressing.

Unblogged Bits (Mon. 18-Apr-11 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Obama Is Now and Will Be a Great President – There’s a lot here I do very much want to believe in — and, to be sure, there’s a lot that Obama has managed to accomplish (esp. of one contemplates, shudder, a McCain/Palin administratino). I still think there’s a lot (in health care and budget matters) that he’s negotiated very poorly on, and other areas (in homeland security / civil rights) where I don’t see much difference between him and Bush.
Brewer vetoes birther, campus gun bills – Good Lord — sanity from Arizona?
Speechless On The House Floor | MoveOn.Org – There are election priorities, and then there are governing priorities. Sometimes they differ because folks have a different perspective once in office. Sometimes they differ because the election priorities were lies.
DIA, developers want more stations on RTD east rail line – The Denver Post – I’m sure they do — but nobody wants to pay for it. Honestly, I think this is a case where it’s more important to get the line built, then get added stations and tracks lain. (I’m obliged to note my employer is involved in this project.)
Watch the first clip from Harry Potter’s final movie, The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 [Video] – Oooooooh. (And, let me say, it’s so cool seeing more of John Hurt as Olivander …)
“Hello Megan” drives him crazy, too – Actually, I don’t mind the “Hello, Megan!” bit, but this was still funny. In that “Hitler movie re-subtitled” way.
If Aqualad could get be with the team on the right, I’d… – Fun. I’m enjoying the current YJ cartoon a lot — but the David/Nauck YJ comic rocked. Even if Superboy looked super-lame in those days.
Organizational Levels – Hmmmm, wonder what you get at 221?
When members of Congress forget who was president in 2008 – I’m a Congressman, dagnabbit! Don’t let the facts get in the way of my talking points!
Pam’s House Blend:: The Bizarre Behavior Of An Apparently Hate Filled Man – Of Course It’s Peter LaBarbera – And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, right? I mean, isn’t that how the song goes?
Box Turtle Bulletin » Leader of Maine’s Yes on 1 Campaign Admits to Lying – But of course, when the cause is great enough, the ends justify the means, right? Even when you’re doing it for Jesus?
Christian protesters destroy controversial Andres Serrano art “Piss Christ” – But … but … but … I thought it was only Muslims who were intolerant and violent!
Good Husbands Choose Marijuana – Heh. Though there are at least a couple of these I don’t need to be high for …
7 Basic Things You Won’t Believe You’re All Doing Wrong | Cracked.com – Some more interesting (and good) pieces of advice.
8 Movie Special Effects You Won’t Believe Aren’t CGI | Cracked.com – I already knew most of these (T2 and LotR especially) — but it’s still pretty cool.
Michele Bachmann Tax Day rally draws sparse crowd – Andy Barr – POLITICO.com – Aw, man, if all the lunatic GOPers get abandoned by the voters too early, how will we have any fun in 2012?
ThinkProgress » Boehner Hires $5 Million Lawyer To Defend Unconstitutional Law – “Of course, it wasn’t so long ago that Boehner brought the nation within inches of a government shutdown because of his alleged fears that the United States is spending too much money. Apparently, Boehner’s commitment to fiscal responsibility isn’t nearly as strong as his need to ensure that no gay American receives their constitutional right to ‘equal protection of the laws.'”
The Science of Why We Don’t Believe Science | Mother Jones – On the surface, this indictment of human reason is pretty depressing. But what it really means is that humans integrate facts with feelings, and that we need to engage where people are coming from emotionally and “values”-wise in order to get them to listen to what the facts are. Which, really, isn’t that unusual a piece of advice when communicating to (and trying to persuade) an audience.

Unblogged Bits (Fri. 15-Apr-11 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Victim of Prosecutorial Misconduct Speaks : Dispatches from the Culture Wars – The inability to trust in the law and the justice systems means that the population will feel no need or duty to align with them. Dishonest prosecutors not only harm (or even kill) the innocent, they attack the bedrock of our nation and society.
Dishonest Use of Budget Numbers : Dispatches from the Culture Wars – Of course they’re going to blame Obama for what Bush did (and set up to be done to this very day). What other choice do they have?
A Tax Day Special—The U.S. is a low-tax country – But … but … we’ve been assured by the GOP that we’re paying humongously high taxes and that no civilization could possibly endure with our horrific tax burden, especially on the rich!
Rick Santorum Swears “Most Seniors . . Are More Than Willing” To Sacrifice Their Medicare Plan – Hey, they were the Greatest Generation, right? They gotta be eager to sacrifice still more!
Doctor Who – Premiere Week – Woot!
Chickens roosting – Amusing, if true.
iOS, Android gobbling Nintendo’s share of portable game market – Hadn’t considered this before but, yeah — handheld game systems are pretty much doomed.
Ayn Rand vs Jesus Christ – That’s pretty much correct. And, yet, Rand seems to give so many on the Right, many of them ostensibly conservative Christians, giggles of glee.
NationalJournal.com – Fox News Removes Story Linking Obama to a College Suicide – Friday, April 15, 2011 – Stay classy, Fox News!
Dilbert Creator Pretends to Be His Own Biggest Fan on Message Boards – As funny as I find Dilbert (even now), I’ve long had the impression that Scott Adams was … well, not the nicest guy in the pool.

Unblogged Bits (Tue. 12-Apr-11 1730)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Newly-released FBI memo from 1950 confirms “flying saucers” crashing in New Mexico [Mysteries] – Well, the memo confirms something — now, who’s confirming the memo (and its writer, and his sources)?
Rand And The Conservatism Of Doubt – Ah, Ayn Rand — is there anything more you can get wrong with your crazy philosophy?
Stop Being The “Annoying Phone Guy” During Meetings With BusyMe for Android – Seriously checking this out.
Senator To Propose New Internet Sales Tax – Certainly people (cough) are more likely in many circumstances to purchase something tax-free through Amazon than taxed from their local bricks-and-mortar store (unless they want it in their hands RIGHT NOW). On the other hand, the taxpayer “impact” of Amazon, vs. Best Buy, is much lower. So the only issue is the “fairness” of states getting or not getting money for what I buy. Let’s not make it any more noble than that.
150 Years Later, Tea Partiers Still Aren’t Over The Civil War: Travis Waldron
Religious Right Ramps Up Attacks on Judicial Nominee Goodwin Liu – Thanks goodness — we’d almost forgotten all about the GOP zaniness in the Senate …
Fischer Likens Boehner To Pontius Pilate Over Planned Parenthood Compromise – Dolt.
Liberty U Blocks Access To Local Paper – Liberty? You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means …
Robertson On Burqa Ban: Don’t Like It? Go Back To Africa – Religious freedom for me, but not for thee.
Scientist accidentally experiments on himself, wife – Not now, honey — you’re not out of quarantine yet!
Kindle now available for $114 — with on-screen ads – And now we know why Kindle hasn’t offered folks (since very early days) the easy ability to load their own screen savers. Ugh.
$39bn budget cuts also target safe drinking water and heating subsidies. So where are cuts to GOP programs? – What did the Republicans want that got cut? The amount of budget money they (eventually) said wanted cut. “We really wanted $100B!” they claim, “And that got cut to only $40B! So, see? We’re cutting, too!” Yeesh.
Huckabee/Trump 2012? Former Gov. Open To Sharing Ticket With Birther Mogul – I’m trying to figure out if Huckabee is following the McCain “I’ll say anything to get a vote” course, or if he’s always been as flaky as he’s seemed of late.
Why Does it Take so Much Less Milk to Lighten Iced Coffee? [Giz Explains] – And knowing’s half the battle!
Private Records of 3.5 Million Texans Were Mistakenly Leaked by the State [Wtf] – Okay, let’s just assume, from now on, that any record kept about you, whether governmental or private, can and will, eventually, be leaked. How do we, as a society, mitigate that?
If a Byte Were a Gram a Floppy Disk Would Weigh 10 Cats [Factoid] – A pint’s a pound the world around!
Meet the Man Who Invented the Digital Camera [Video] – It’s amazing to think of how much photography has changed with the advent of digital — for the vast part the better, I think.
Why Everyone Loves Yuri Gagarin, the First Human to Reach Space [Video] – “The Earth is blue. How wonderful. It is amazing.” Lovely. There are times when I wish spending time in orbit was a requirement for every one of our Congresscritters.
Peter Jackson Explains Why He’s Shooting ‘The Hobbit’ at 48 Frames Per Second – An interesting technological push — and, to my mind, probably a bigger difference than 3D (though it goes hand-in-hand with it).

Unblogged Bits (Mon. 11-Apr-11 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Paul Ryan and Ayn Rand: A Love Affair Against the Common Good – One would think the conflict between Rand and Christianity would get as much play on the Right as the love affair between Rand and unfettered Capitalism. It’s telling which aspect of Rand makes the GOP go ga-ga.
Robert Reich (Why We Must Raise Taxes on the Rich) – “If the rich were taxed at the same rates they were half a century ago, they’d be paying in over $350 billion more this year alone, which translates into trillions over the next decade. That’s enough to accomplish everything the nation needs while also reducing future deficits” But … but … that would make them fractionally less rich!
Boehner abandons calls for an ‘adult’ moment – Why should he? He knows Obama will buckle and give him everything he asks for.
Free Samples – Ah — Grazing at Costco for lunch …
Trump Insists Obama’s Grandparents Planted His Birth Announcement To Obtain Welfare Benefits – Why the heck are people listening to this bozo?
ThinkProgress » Utah Republicans Cut Unemployment Insurance As ‘Motivation For People To Get Back To Work’ – Oooh, yeah, livin’ high on the hog at $290 a week. Dadgummed hobo parasites!
It Is Time For the AFA To Take Responsibility For Fischer’s Bigotry – Yeah, good luck there.
Joyner Falsely Claims “Bolshevik” Means “Minority” When It Actually Means “Majority” – Aside from being completely wrong, my point was correct!
Fischer Goes Too Far…Again: AFA Removes And Edits Post Demanding Immigrants “Convert To Christianity” – I’m not sure which is more amusing — that the AFA yanked the column, or that Fischer re-wrote it afterward.
Norton Disables Itself After One Year – Wow! If it’s a way to automatically get rid of Symantec software without reformatting your machine, it might even be worth it. (Side note: Way to go, Symantec, in driving still more people to Microsoft’s free AV solution.)
Why boys wear blue and girls wear pink – Fortunately (I think), Kay has never been a “pink” girl. Purple early on, more blacks and greens, in fact.
Idaho’s Republican Legislature Gives Their Own GOP $100,000 For Suing Them – Stay classy, Idaho GOP!
They shot a few hostages – SIGH
REPORT: U.S. Military Spending Has Almost Doubled Since 2001 – Now, granted, we’ve been fighting two wars during that period — but, damn, want to wonder why we’ve got such budget problems? There’s a huge part of the reason right there.
Chicken Fat: SUNDAY FUNNIES – MAD #8 – BAT BOY – For those who enjoyed the “Bat Boy & Rubin!” ep of Batman: Brave & the Bold — here’s the Mad Magazine parody that was the inspiration.
In Budget Battle, Boehner, GOP Prove House Isn’t Powerless After All – “Boehner shows it is only powerless when controlled by Democrats.”

Unblogged Bits (Thu. 7-Apr-11 1730)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Pandora sends user GPS, sex, birthdate, other data to ad servers – Naughty-naughty …
Krugman Exposes GOP Ryan’s Unicorn Budget, Catches Heritage Burying Number – The series as a whole is worth reviewing. “This isn’t a serious proposal; it’s a strange combination of cruelty and insanely wishful thinking.”
What would you do? – Actually it seems perfectly convenient. Ayn Rand wasn’t against exploiting altruism and “handouts” that she could get; she just condemned having to pay for them for others. Paul Ryan is being a loyal minion to the cause.

Unblogged Bits (Fri. 18-Feb-11 1630)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

YouTube – Spiderman 2 Intro Weird Al Yankovic Ode To A Superhero HD Version – This one’s for Avo. (Kay inadvertently introduced it to me, though she’s never heard the Billy Joel original.)
America’s Worst Commutes | MintLife Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice – That said, light rail works great (for me) in getting around this problem here in Denver — and timeshifting companies are a great help, too.
Mozilla’s “modern browser” attack on IE overlooks Firefox shortcomings – I’ve been doing a lot of playing with Chrome 10 (at home) vs Firefox 3.6 (at work); process isolation is one of the significant gaps I see in FF still (and will be in FF 4, too). On the other hand, I’ll take either of them in a heartbeat vs the the instability and restrictions of IE 8. I don’t anticipate leaping into IE 9 any time soon.
GOP budget to defund Net Neutrality, Consumer Financial Protection and Wall Street pay czar – “Yes, the Democrats are pretty lame on all of these issues but the GOP is now taking these weak positions to the extreme. It’s yet another business feeding frenzy government. It’s a government for business, by business. Consumers be damned.”
Indiana Bill Would Allow Guns Almost Everywhere – Yeah, and as long as that guy “shoulder to shoulder” with you knows which of the other guys waving a gun around is the right one to shoot, then everything will be hunky-dory!

Unblogged Bits (Tue. 15-Feb-11 1030)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

KS GOP Rep. Connie O’Brien Says She Can Tell Who Is ‘Illegal’ Because They Have ‘The Olive Complexion’ – I think Rep O’Brien should have taken “time to think” before she actually spoke. Her words are a fine example of racism (skin tone = national origin, and non-white = illegal alien).
South Dakota Moves To Legalize Killing Abortion Providers | Mother Jones – That’s … just swell. Idjits.
Ayn Rand on the Big Screen – Yeah … not on my list.

Unblogged Bits (Sun. 6-Feb-11 2230)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Palin Trademark Refused Because She Forgot To Sign Application – The idea of Sarah Palin “providing motivational-speaking services in the field of life choices” is … disturbing.
‘Captain America’ Super Bowl Commercial – Whoa! And … cool!! (More once I mentally digest …)
Governor Perry to slash child services spending as Texas child poverty hits 24% – But there’s budgets to be balanced! And it’s not like we can ask people to pay taxes for, y’know, takin’ care of needy kids! That’s socialism!
Reagan administration was number one: Chris in Paris
Michele Bachmann: I Take My First Breath In The Morning Thinking “Repeal Obamacare” – In the famous words of William Shatner, “Get a life!”
Class Action Suit Filed Against Jimmy Carter Book – NYTimes.com – Jeez … if we get have class action suits and injunctions against any non-fiction book that someone claims is offensively misrepresenting the facts, we might never have any non-fiction books on contemporary events ever again. Certainly Glenn Beck would be out of the publishing business. Yeesh.
A Digital Future for the Founding Fathers – NYTimes.com – Most excellent.
War on science – what else would you call it? – I’m sure if there’s any useful science out there to be done, it will be done by Monsanto, and GE, and … um … the Chinese!
Media Matters staff: Fox News Radio’s Starnes: “Terrorists And Illegals Have More Rights Than Folks Attending The Super Bowl” – I read this dolt’s Twitter feed to dig into some of the (non-)stories he links to. Aside from a “God bless Ronald Reagan” and a note about how classy a First Lady Nancy was, the man has pretty much zero to say positive about anything. And, apparently, it’s all OBAMA’S FAULT. Yeesh.
Shake it off, little fella – Mickey Mouse became famous first as an underdog, then as the symbol for something wonderful. But like the Founding Fathers, he pales when there’s no blood beneath the flesh, and his reign as symbolic monarch of the Disney brand as seemed more and more empty as the decades have rolled along. The question is not what can Disney do about it, but whether they will.

Unblogged Bits (Mon. 31-Jan-11 1030)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

IMPORTANT HEALTH NEWS: “Adults who make love first thing in the morning apparently not only feel mo… – But, honey, if you don’t have your health …
Cella Energy claims breakthrough that would result in $1.50 per gallon gasoline alternative. – “If this is real you can expect the Oil Industry to have an absolute shit fit over it. I’d like to be optimistic about it, but the cynic in me can’t help but think that even if it does work as well as claimed that there’ll be some wicked trade-off like it causes cancer in everything that comes in contact with it or something else equally horrible.” Or at least that’s what some with a vested interest in the status quo will CLAIM … [/conspiracymode]
A note to the Teapartiers… – But … but … if they had guns, they’d automatically have freedom! Plus, they’re Muslims! You can’t trust them with guns!
DORK TOWER, Tuesday, January 25, 2011 – The Door into Summer …
Would you like to play a game? – RLC January / 31 / 2011 – Yet another reason I intentionally don’t spend much time on Facebook …
Again with ‘exceptionalism’? – I’d like to think that “exceptional” is meant as “unique” or “unanticipated” or somehow particularly wonderful. But “exceptional” also seems a lazy way of excusing our behavior: nobody should be allowed to torture prisoners “except” the US (because we’re “exceptional”); nobody should overthrow governments “except” the US (because we’re “exceptional”), etc. That this word has become a ginned-up synonym for “patriotic” is all the more lousy.
The serious flaws in the GOP’s anti-abortion bill – Not only does it block Medicaid funding for abortions when rapes aren’t “forcible” enough, it effectively does the same for private insurance under the Affordable Care Act. But remember, the GOP is steadfastly against imposing the government’s tyrannical health insurance rules on private individuals!
Opposition Leader ElBaradei: Threat of Muslim Brotherhood Is A ‘Myth’ Lacking ‘One Iota Of Reality’ – For some, 30-year-regime autocrats are less anti-American than scary MMMMUUUUSSSLLLIIMMMMSSSS …
Boehner Admits Failing To Raise Debt Ceiling Would Be ‘A Disaster,’ But Takes It Hostage Anyway – “Nice economy we got here. Be a shame if something were to happen to it …”
Politician Breaks Into Home, Sues Owners For Injuries – Shall I mention that Sen. Alesi is a Republican, that party of rugged self-responsibility, private property rights, and tort reform?
Frank Rich: The Tea Party wags the dog – The GOP establishment is potentially in a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, that has consequences for the nation as a whole, too.
GOP Priorities: Redefining Rape – While abortion is an option I’ll never be happy about, this, right here, is precisely why I will never make that decision for someone else, for the person, individual, citizen, woman, who is ultimately having to make that choice. That there are those who are so enamored of the abstract that they would deign to decide who “qualifies,” whose rape was “forcible” enough to “merit” coverage of abortion services, is itself sickening enough.
Man With Explosives Arrested Outside Michigan Mosque – I’ll be curious to hear more about this case.
15 Of The World’s Coolest Swimming Pools – I love the Hearst one they show — but the other one is far better.
I Me Mine: The Unholy Trinity Of Ayn Rand « Tomfoolery – Rand appeals to the high school / college period of self-discovery by saying, “You are the only person in the world who matters. Pursue your own self-interest because that is the highest good.” Most people grow out of that, fortunately. Randians never seem to. And way too many of them are now in the halls of our government.
Building a Better Word Cloud – An interesting analysis (esp. if you compare the most frequent words and compare them to the person usually considered more “aloof” and “analyitical” and out of touch, vs. the person who it’s often claimed is “one of us”).
HOWTO make health-care cheaper by spending more on patients who need it – ” In other words, providing excellent, personalized care to the small number of patients who don’t fit the system’s model saves far more money than making the system more stringent, with more paperwork, higher co-pays and other punitive measures. It’s a win-win.” The problem with systems is that they are rarely dynamic enough to deal with those outside the system. And they usually do everything they can to defend themselves from change.
AMERICAblog News: Maddow: The story behind Michelle Bachmann’s speech — it was a manufactured ‘event’ by CNN & a Republican for-profit consultant – CNN: All the News that’s Fit to Gin Up!
Neil Barofsky: Credit ratings for banks now include assurance of government bailouts – Imagine the brouhaha if social activists were stating that any individual should feel free to take whatever risk they want because the government would always bail them out with a security net. But, then, the banks are “too big to fail,” and too many individuals are “too small to matter.”

Unblogged Bits (Sat. 29-Jan-11 1630)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

GOP Conference Chair Thaddeus McCotter Says ‘America Must Stand’ With Mubarak Dictatorship – “An imperfect government capable of reform”? Really? Yeesh.
The Truth About Facebook – Um … yeah.
Job Interview – Man, I wish it were that easy.
MAD – SMBC January 29, 2011 – Heh. Fortunately, for some, after the Apocalypse can come an unexpected Golden Age …
Give ’em the Axe – Zits for 1/29/2011 – While there is many the fashion faux pas in my own teen past, I have to believe (and, indeed, hope) that the current trend for heavy cologne (excuse me, “body spray”) is a short-lived one, and that the purveyors of fashion/cosmetics have not implemented a permanent change in male society.
The pressing need for a ‘spudnut moment’ – Sarah Palin is, of course, a dolt.
Still waiting for that ‘zero tolerance’ policy to kick in: Steve Benen
Paul Ryan and his media base: Steve Benen
The anti-science party – Sad, but true. I have to wonder, though, how much of the anti-science (evolution, climate change, basic research, etc.) bent of many prominent GOP leaders is because it’s to their political benefit (anti-science = anti-regulatory = pro-business = contributions!) and how much of it is the other way around (business contributions go to those who are anti-science = anti-regulatory). In either case, too many people are fiddling while Rome burns, either for profit, power, or just intentional ignorance.
Read the first draft of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek pitch, starring “Captain April” and the “S.S. Yorktown” [Television] – Interesting seeing which pitched plots eventually saw light of day, which didn’t.
Revolver that fires shotgun shells – Have to wonder what the kick on that would be. Btw, the BATFE had Taurus pull it after deeming it not a pistol but a short-barreled shotgun, which are illegal. (And which points out how firearm definitions, for legal purposes, can be very slippery things.)
No Longer Caring About Democracy, Bolton Disparages Egypt Protests And Defends Mubarak – While Bolton’s expressed concern about Islamicist radicals taking the reins of the revolt and possible follow-on government are legit, the idea that we should reflexively back Mubarak because of that is as shortsighted as our backing of every other strongman we’ve done for the last sixty years — little of which as ever ended well for the countries in question or US security.