Way back in the ages of the early Reagan administration a local station aired the following report:
I remember the TRS Model 1 computer being used by the “home computer owner”! It’s on what I learned to program in BASIC in the back of a Radio Shack store around the time this was being aired.
How amazing that what was once a novelty is now threatening to kill traditional printed newspapers.
Watching the vice presidential debate is like watching a manic depressive. It’s been excruciating at times and it’s been highly entertaining at other time. Senator Biden hardly jumps off the screen, but Governor Palin hasn’t constructed a single original thought throughout this incredibly long hour and a half. I wish I had the time and patience to put together clips of the couple of interviews and speechs she’s been allowed to give and edit them next to clips from this debate showing she merely rebates herself. If you’re reading this, have the time and patience, and do this, I won’t try to claim any credit!
Gwen Ifill is better today than she was during the Chaney/Edwards debate in 2004, but she is giving too many passes to Palin, especially on the gay marriage questions where Palin outright lied about her support. At least she did a better job than Jim Leher who did not attempt to control the debate and made the disasterous attempt to try and make the candidates talk to each other. Hopefully Tom Brokow will do better with the next one.
In conclusion, Palin is an attention whore with a grating voice. Biden isn’t Mr. Warmth, but he’s Mr. Intelligent and Mr. Competent.
… Grandpa Munster’s Grandpa marries Addicted To Surgery Barbie?
The McCains!
Is this the freakiest looking power couple or what?
Part of me almost admires this guy. A principal of a South Carolina high school resigned rather than force narrow minded beliefs on others and impeded his fellow citizens’ pursuit of happiness. Eddie Walker objected to the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance club. Rather than attempt to block the formation or make a draconian decision and terminate all extracurricular activities, Mr. Walker took responsibility for his choice to follow certain religious beliefs. He realized choosing these beliefs made him unfit to participate in public education and withdrew.
Now we need many other public school administrators to follow his lead, along with a slew of pharmacists.
The Wrath of God is a bitch, ain’t it, Mrs. Kern.
New York’s controversial governor possible admits a connection to a high priced prostitution ring. He hasn’t actually said what he’s done to be sorry for, but that hasn’t stopped his repub enemies from calling for his immediate resignation. Surprise, surprise. Where were these people when fresh faced repub senator David Vitter was accused of the exact same thing? Hopefully, he won’t fold too fast. He could take a page from Vitter’s book and let everyone know that God and his wife have forgiven him, the matter is private and let’s get on with things that are actually important.
Now Senator Larry Craig claims he was profiled by the police.
Currently we have the two sides of the aisle in Congress wrangling over the extension of the SCHIP program. This got me thinking about the health industry and compensation as a whole. Doctors earn a lot of money to ensure a high degree of devotion and accuracy in the services they perform and to encourage research and advancement. A similar line of thought applies to pharmaceutical companies. Drugs have a high price, at least initially, because of high research costs and profit encourages the company to develop new and/or improved products to improve the human condition.
President Bush vetoed the current SCHIP bill because he believes that people should be finding their insurance in the private market. However, an insurance company is designed as an instrument to share risks among a group and transfer wealth from one party (the patient) to another (the doctor/health care provider). A private insurance company has the legal duty to enrich it’s shareholders to the maximum extent possible. It does this by collecting as large a premium from its policyholders it can and paying health care providers and pharmaceutical companies as little as possible for the services they render and products they sell.
The insurance companies have a vital row in allowing many people to afford treatment for which they would not be able to pay if the risk was not shared. However, the insurance company offers no innovation in this process. Now, here’s the point of this whole thing. Because of the importance of medicine in human survival and the value we place (or purport to place in some cases) on human life, should the insurance role, which while important is merely one of weath transfer, be allowed to be a profitable one? Would converting all insurance companies to non-profit or mutual organizations (where profits are re-distributed to policyholders in the form of dividends or reduced premiums), or high regulation (limiting the amount of profit, creating legal requirements for what treatments must be covered, who must be accepted or rejected as a policyholder or what rates could be charged) at the federal level of for-profit companies lower the price of insurance premiums to the point the every American (with an income) could afford it?
The movie Damaged Care describes an interesting view of the health care industry.
In general, I’ve considered organized religion to be a potent poison. It sets up an elitest clique who proclaim that they are better than you and unless you adhere to the ways of their dusty old scriptures you will suffer eternal torment. While I have no problems with silly people believing silly myths as if they were reality, I do have a problem when these silly people try to turn their silly beliefs into silly laws.
How do you break the power of the masses? By breaking the masses. That’s why I’ve been following the whole Episcopal/Anglican series of stories with much greater attention than other religious stories. The Anglican Communion and Episcopalian Church are smaller than some of the other influential religious denominations, but it can, hopefully, provide an example on how to dilute the power and influence of these types of organizations.
In 2003 V. Eugene Robinson, a gay man, was appointed a bishop in the Episcopalian Church. It was a great stride forward for religion in general. It was, of course, not seen this way. Robinson’s elevation to higher office was greeted with derision and outright hatred, particularly by a backward man named Peter Akinola in a backward country called Nigeria. Akinola has wasted no opportunity to call homosexuality a sickness and say that homosexuals are not fit to live. To promote his stupidity, he has taken some of the more conservative parishes and diocese under his wing. This is a good thing. By following Bishop Fred Flintstone, these people may be placing themselves in limbo under their church law. They certainly look ridiculous and this can only blunt their message of hatred. Please Bishop Homo Habilis, enlarge your silly flock!
Personally I can’t wait for the whole shebang to break apart into hundreds or thousands of pieces. The Anglicans are only the starting place. The best thing that could happen to religion is a million Martin Luthers in every denomination, branch, cult, etc… splitting them all into tiny slivers so they can argue theology while the rest of us get along with something important like creating peace on earth.
Amen!
In what should be a non-story, the Concerned Women of America (or is it for America) have some problems with the above image, an advertisement for the upcoming Folsom Street Fair this weekend. A number of blogs have picked up on this including the prolific Andrew Sullivan, Towleroad, Joe My God and postmodernbarney. Sullivan is brief, calling it an unnecessary provocation and “easy, cheap blasphemy”. I can understand the “unnecessary provocation” comment even if I don’t agree with it, but the blasphemy crack seems to touch a nerve or two of his.
What bothers me most is that Sullivan went on some time ago about not having the right to not be offended. (I attempted to search his archives for the entry, but there are way too many to look through. If I find it in the near future, I’ll update this.) It’s one of the few points we both agree on. Is Sullivan saying that this alleged blasphemy is the exception to this rule? I certainly hope not as this would compromise both free speech and freedom of religion.
Towleroad’s slightly longer entry is more of a news announcement with a slightly smarmy, buy well deserved, attitude toward CWA. Joe My God’s entry is similar, but states an opinion of the ad. He likes it! The more interesting parts of both these articles are the voluminous comments each have generated. It’s worth a read.
Postmodernbarney has the most well written and intelligently reasoned “so what” I’ve ever read. (I’ve followed the site for awhile and the man has talent.) OK, I don’t think Sullivan is that right-wing, but that’s just my opinion. He’s the only one to actually come out and say “be ourselves”, “stop changing your behavior for the sake others”, etc….
I would take this a little further. We need to condemn CWA’s call to political leaders. Asking them to condemn blasphemy represents a serious threat to everyone’s freedoms. Our constitution states the congress can make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibit its free exercise. The call by CWA is their attempt to elevate Christianity above other religions. If this were out of sense of fairness they would have asked members of congress to condemn religious right leaders who committed blasphemy by calling Islam satanic and Muhammad a pedophile. These are they people who call gay rights special rights, but want to put Christianity beyond anyone’s criticism. Talk about hypocritical.
I like the poster. It’s a clever and slick image. If you have a problem with it don’t look at it. You don’t have the right to eliminate the things that offend you but you do have the right to walk away from it. For everyone else, enjoy it!
Update: Check the comment below for a story in Time Magazine about Andrew Sullivan and his argument that you are not protected from offense. My thanks to the reader for his diligent research.
An excellent article written by someone obviously much more talented than me! Enjoy! I did.
Not too long ago, my current state of residence made a rather troubling court decision. The most disturbing passage from the decision:
”In declaring that the State’s legitimate interests in fostering procreation and encouraging the traditional family structures in which children are born are related reasonably to the means employed by [the law banning same-sex marriage], our opinion should by no means be read to imply that the General Assembly may not grant and recognize for homosexual persons civil unions or the reasons,” wrote Harrell, who is retired from the court but participated in the decision because he was a member when the case was argued.
Now these arguments have been said before, and what I am about to retort with has as well, but I feel very strongly that it needs to be repeated yet again. If the main goal of marriage is procreation in a “traditional family structure” then the following needs to be observed:
Without observing these requirements, the decision holds no legitimacy other than to quell popular dissent against.
The Sioux City Journal had an editorial about Iowa’s recent brush with same sex marriage. Instead of procreation and “traditional family structure” this person used religious reasoning. He went so far as to call same sex marriage “a cruel impostor” without any real reasoning other than tradition. Perhaps this person wishes to return to other traditions like poll taxes and Jim Crow laws. This person, like so many others, forgets that we live in a society with a government that is neutral to religion. Despite his cry that it is neither irrational nor oppressive, it winds up being both. The marriage of two people of the same sex would have absolutely no effect on his marriage or life in general, but denying this right to others has an incredibly deleterious effect on a law abiding couple.
I think we’re in for a serious intensifying of these efforts. Spurred on by the recent deaths of Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy, the likes of James Dobson and Pat Robertson realize their generation is ending and succeeding generations are becoming more and more liberal. Constitutional amendments to enforce their ideals is the only way that they can be sure that they are carried into the future.
This decision makes it clear that we will need to tackle this issue through the legislature rather than through the courts. If you live in Maryland, be sure to write your state representatives.
CNN has an article on tattoo regret and removal. The article mentions the development of micro-encapsulated ink. This ink, when unleashed on the world, will allow tattoos to be removed with a single pass of current laser removal technology. Tattoos once represented a commitment you made to yourself; a permanent indelible change to your body. It was something you and your tattoo artist sat down, agonized over, carefully considered and finally, designed. You were proud that your creation would be with you for the rest of your live. I was 26 when I got my first tattoo and had been designing it in my head for years before. As everything in our society becomes disposable, this consideration is no longer necessary.
There will, of course, be some advantages. That penis you had tattooed just above your ass-crack while stumbling around in a drunken stupor no longer needs to be an embarrassment on every date you’ll have for the rest of your life. (All three of them.) And law suits will be so much simpler when your sense of cheapness leads you to the bargain shop and the “artist” manages to misspell your significant other’s name. Now your cut rate Picasso can pay for a single removal session rather than buying you beer and cigarettes for the rest of your life.
Still, all I can see this really doing is damaging a wonderful underground institution buy inundating it with geometric increase in crappy flash and longer waits at shops while every idiot who wants to feel cool gets whatever “inspiration du jour” that just hit them stabbed under their skin. Why not just get some of those stick on tattoos from Count Chocula?
The Plank at TNR.com has a wonderful comparison of Britney Spears’ botched comeback and George Bush’s continuing ineffectualness. (via AndrewSullivan.com) Check it out!
Wow, four days without posting. I have a bit to make up for, so here a few things on my mind.
Torchwood - The Saturday debut was BBC America’s highest rated show ever. Good going. Next up is “Day One”. This will be Gwen’s first adventure with the Torchwood team and they square off against a creature lovingly named “The Sex Gas”. It’s an alien that feeds off the energy of male orgasms (straight or gay) and kills the “donor” in the process. This is what I meant about the more controversial aspects of the show. While there’s no outright graphic sex (simulated or otherwise) you see a good deal of bare butts. Now Rhys (Kai Owen), Gwen’s boyfriend may be more Average Joe than muscle god, but he’s got a cute ass and has no problem showing it! Back to the point, while BBC America didn’t significantly censor the first episode, now that we get more into the nitty gritty, I hope that remains the case.
Madeleine L’Engle - This great author inspired me to read some of her works again. I ordered nice new hardcover copies of “A Wrinkle In Time”, “A Wind In the Door” and “A Swiftly Tilting Planet” and they arrived yesterday. Afterward, I’ll listen to the same read by the author. I was also inspired to concoct a way to spread the works of Madame L’Engle and increase the readership and commenting here (hopefully) by bribing the audience with a contest. Look for it in early October. Right before that is the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week. “A Wrinkle In Time” is consistently in the top 25 of banned and challenged books. Read it!
The News - Senator Toilet “I have a wide stance” Tryst has decided to try and have his guilty plea withdrawn. Something tells me he’ll be successful. Since it’s four days before the date he promises to resign, he may just stay on till the end of his term. My only disappointment is that he won’t be running for re-election. It certainly would have been the most entertaining contest of 2008. The attacks from his fellow republicans would have been both more vicious and more original than any the democrats could think up.
Now another prostitute has come forward to denounce Senator Vitter. Still, his fellow party members either ignore the incidents or spring to his defense. Here is a man of God who, unlike his counterpart from Idaho whose proof of a crime is tenuous at best, has admitted to breaking a secular law (it’s only legal to pay for sex in certain parts of Nevada after all) numerous times and breaking a commandment. Somehow he believes God has forgiven him. Is there a crash course to cure someone of adultery like there is to cure someone of homosexuality? And if so, who supervised him?
Former senator, crappy actor and presidential candidate running on the heels of the late Ronald Reagan, Fred Thompson first can’t remember the details of the Terry Schiavo affair. Then, after being reminded of the details, he says it should be left up to the locals to decide who lives or dies. If it takes him many hours to remember something that happened a mere two years ago and was significant enough for buffoon in chief George Bush to drag Congress back into session, maybe he has more in common with Reagan’s less desirable characteristics than he cares to admit. Maybe we should ask Oliver North.
Is it possible to get too close of a shot in a porn movie? Check out this article on high-definition porn. Apparently producers are having some issues with the high definition image revealing too much. Now all those “perfect” bodies have cellulite, wrinkles and razor burn. This should a be a boon to the California plastic surgery and fitness industries. It will probably push the envelope on software technology to cover up these imperfections because it’s unacceptable for a porn actor to look like a person. No wonder Barbie remains popular and Slutz Bratz are even more so.
Worldwide scam network, Exodus, is releasing a report today that reparative therapy for gays ain’t so bad. Of course, it’s being released by a publisher noted for its dedication to Christian ideology. Also, it’s unknown if the report was actually peer reviewed. If nothing else, it should be a funny read.
We’re still in Iraq with no end in sight. And buffoon in chief still believes this is going well and we should stay even though we can’t even successfully train a security force over four and a half years. Obviously this is the wait until it’s someone else’s problem strategy.
Keep reading. It can only get better.