Who's Crazier? Michael Jackson Or His Fans?

Okay, goofily off-topic for this blog but it's late and I couldn't believe what I read. Besides, I've avoided all celebrity trials in the past (life is too short) but may be unable to resist Michael Jackson's travails. Dozens of "sexually explicit" and "adult oriented" videos and magazines will be entered into evidence at the trial -- both heterosexual and homosexual in nature. One magazine contains the fingerprints of Jackson and the young boy who has accused him of molestation. Jackson's lawyers have already floated the idea that they will show Jackson found the boy with the mag and took it out of his hands -- hence the reason both their fingerprints are on it. ("Put that Freshmen magazine down!" ordered MJ with stern parental authority.)

Here's what kills me, from the New York Post.

"I have to be here," said fan Lidi Gyamoph to the New York Post, who had traveled from Canterbury, England, leaving her three young children with relatives, so she could show her support for Jackson. "I couldn't stay at home looking after my kids knowing this tragedy is happening. I would lay my life on the fact he's innocent."

I thought that was laughable. Then I read her next comment.

"Gyamoph, 25, added, "If he said tomorrow, 'I will adopt your children for a year,' I would say 'Enjoy yourselves.' "

Wow. You couldn't make that up.
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Evening open thread

So are you watching tomorrow or not? Read the rest of this post...

Religious right says evolution has killed 135 million people?

Huh? This is just downright weird. I guess the religious right had no new cartoon characters to out this week.

Oh, and they're now calling it "communistic evolution" - yes, now they're trying to link evolution with communism. Give me a break. While evolution has certainly done its share of killing, it's done it the good old fashioned way, through survival of the fittest. Compare that to America's Taliban and all the religious zealots before them who killed and destroyed people throughout the ages simply because they hated them for being different. If anyone is to be compared to communism, it's America's Taliban. Stalin would have been proud of such an intolerant, monolothic, unthinking, angry and vengeful people.

(Hat tip to ItAffectsYou.org for spotting this.) Read the rest of this post...

Democrats Develop Spine -- Fight Atty Gen Nomination

In a welcome sign, the Democrats are showing some fight and challenging the truly absurd nomination of Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General.

(We don't need to tell you how ridiculous it is to suggest a man who subverted the Constitution, signed off on torture (by redefining virtually every cruel practice as not actually BEING torture), told Bush the President is above the law in times of war (with Bush believing we are now permanently in a state of war) and then gave disingenuous, pass-the-buck answers to Congress when being grilled. THIS is the guy who is supposed to be a check on the President and protect our basic rights?)

According to the New York Times, the Dems are even contemplating a fillibuster. This is EXACTLY what a fillibuster is designed for: letting the minority put roadblocks in front of egregious nominations to the White House, Supreme Court, et al. (Rice didn't quite fit the bill; hence her (very weak) approval in the Senate.

My favorite moment: when Sen. Arlen Specter gets religion and decides that affirmative action -- instead of color blind, race neutral promotion -- is absolutely the right thing to do.

"Specter said that when he was first elected Philadelphia's district attorney four decades ago, there were no Hispanics in his office, and that he had tried to broaden the ethnic mix of his staff. The senator said it was "not irrelevant" that Mr. Gonzales would be the first Hispanic attorney general, since his background would give him a broader perspective on civil rights, immigration and other issues," according to the New York Times.

Let's not forget his comments in support of affirmative action down the road. Read the rest of this post...

State of the Union drinking game

Looks a bit complicated, but could be fun. And will certainly be necessary. Read the rest of this post...

Frost out of DNC Race

Martin Frost has dropped out of the race for DNC Chair according to the Associated Press.

Frost's decision came hours after AFL-CIO leaders decided not to make an endorsement in the race for Democratic National Committee chairman.

Frost had counted heavily on organized labor to give him a boost against Dean. Many in the AFL-CIO were prepared to back Frost at one point, but he had not shown enough movement in the race to win labor support, union officials said.

The former congressman said Tuesday he had called Dean, the former presidential candidate, and ``congratulated him for running a strong campaign. The challenge ahead for Governor Dean will be to unite the party, rebuild the DNC and win elections in every region of the country.''

Looks like it's down to Dean, Roemer, Rosenberg and Fowler. Frost's comments sure sound good for Dean.
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DiFi's non-response to her vote in favor of Condi

January 31, 2005

Dear Mr. xxxxxxxxx:

Thank you for writing to express your opposition to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice's nomination to be Secretary of State. I appreciate the time you took to write.

I regret we disagree on this issue. As you may know, the votes in the Senate for confirmation were 85 to 13. I have attached a copy of my remarks before the Senate which states my reason for support.

I would like to make an additional point. While the Secretary of State is always an extension of the sitting President's foreign policy, I believe the key is to be able to work with a Secretary to make changes for the better. I intend to do that with Dr. Rice as the second Bush Administration gets underway.

Again, thank you for writing.

[She then included a copy of her floor statement. This woman has been worthless for years.]

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Freedom On The March!

In doublespeak worthy of Bush, the King of Nepal has declared himself a supporter of multi-party democracy...right after abolishing Nepal's tepid parliament and seizing all power for himself. As our blogging commentators would say, "They've been freedomized!"
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Throw a State of the Union house party

ThereIsNoCrisis.com, the BlogPac supported Web campaign to defeat Bush's Social Security proposal, is asking folks to host house parties during the State of the Union tomorrow night (Wednesday). I'm on the advisory board of BlogPac and helping out on this campaign, and just got off the phone with the guys organizing this. For those who don't know, a house party is quite simply a gathering of a bunch of like-minded friends at your house to watch the show, and usually there are some extra to-do's thrown in. Of course you'll be able to send letters to the editor to the newspapers via the Web after the address, and there will be a conference call afterwards as well that you'll be invited to (Atrios, among others, will be speaking on the call). I've also suggested they come up with a Bush Bingo - if anyone can find the site where you create your own Bingo cards out of things Bush may say that night, let me know. Drinking games, specialized drinks for the evenings with funny names - I've suggested all of this, and am open to suggestions from you guys as well. Read the rest of this post...

So, if I can buy another computer, should I, and what? Need advice

I'm lifting the ban on Mac-lovers :-) Sony just shipped the new hard-drive to try out and see if that's the problem. On the other hand, Amazon just wrote me (I know, they're R-lovers, but I bought this two months ago before I knew that) and said that they'll take my computer back and refund me, if I like. So now I have a dilemma and need advice from you computer geeks.

Basically, I'm obviously still a bit worried that this computer has never quite acted right since I got it. But I'm wondering, having spent around $1100 on the tower, is there something else out there I should get instead? I.e., take the Amazon refund, send the 'puter back, and get something else?

I'll tell you my interest in getting the computer that I did. It's a Sony VAIO RS-720G desktop. I wanted a desktop because I've always had laptops and finally wanted something powerful, with a big-ass screen (bought a 19 inch screen I'm keeping). The specs that I like about this computer are:

- 200 gig hard drive
- Ram expandable to 2 gigs (comes with 512)
- Pentium 4 processor, 3.0 Ghz
- 7 USB 2.0 ports
- built-in readers for various memory, compact flash, sony memory sticks, etc.
- Coaxial cable input and already has sony's gigapocket software so I can ouput my tivo to my computer, and burn it on my computer

Basically, I want a fast computer, good with games, that I can use for regular word processing, Internet, etc., but also for creating and editing photography and video (for fun and for my political work, the blog, etc.)

I want some serious advice as to whether and what I should spend the $1100 from the tower on instead, if I should at all. I'd like to keep the 19 inch screen, I love it . So, do I consider a Mac, if so what? Can I get another tower cheaper and just as good, and if so, where? Brand recommended?

Thanks as always, and I consider this an opportunity for the rest of you to see what the best advice is out there since most of us will be buying a new computer, whether for ourselves or someone else, sometime in the next year or so., Read the rest of this post...

Religious right wants the government to censor TV shows for gays

(I finally found the correct URL for this)

America's Taliban now wants government officials to ban TV shows simply because they may cater to a gay audience.

We need to take these mo-fos down, hard. Read the rest of this post...

Morning open thread

Anything up?

I hear Bush is now saying that the vote in Iraq validates his policies there. Yeah. They had a vote. So it was okay to lie to the American people, get nearly 1500 Americans and countless Iraqis killed, cost the US taxpayer hundreds of billions of dollars, and give Al Qaeda a recruiting boon. And oh yeah, he still has no idea how we're ever going to get out.

Some victory. Read the rest of this post...

Just say "no" to spending $130M

I'm just so incredibly surprised that this recent study in Texas proved once again that the wingnut abstinence programs fail miserably despite all of the hype and the taxpayer money. Now if the Dem's were promoting such a pathetic failure with tax dollars, how do you think the GOP would react? Uh huh, it's time to blast these programs and cut the funding. These programs are like snake-oil.

Despite taking courses emphasizing abstinence-only themes, teenagers in 29 high schools became increasingly sexually active, mirroring the overall state trends, according to the study conducted by researchers at Texas A&M; University.

"We didn't see any strong indications that these programs were having an impact in the direction desired," said Dr. Buzz Pruitt, who directed the study.

Again, keep in mind this research was done in Texas and we all know what a bunch of lefties they are at Texas A&M.
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Merger mania continues

MetLife to buy Travelers for $11.5B. No word on job cuts yet but there's a lot more to come with M&A this year.
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Even more controversy in our schools

Just what the hell are they teaching these days? Students seem to think that the government should have the right to censor the media and this new study says that the First Amendment goes too far. Sounds to me like parents and our educational system is failing miserably these days.
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Why Evolution ISN'T Controversial In Our Schools

Sadly, it's not because most Americans understand the science behind it. Evolution ain't controversial at the local level BECAUSE IT JUST ISN'T TAUGHT.

Yep, teachers all over the country simply avoid the topic. The NYT details how it's impossible to determine how widespread the practice, but anecdotally it's very common. Even if evolution is in the textbooks and there is no goofy disclaimer that it's "just a theory" (which in scientific terms of course means an idea that is widely accepted with oodles and oodles of evidence to back it up), teachers may assign it for reading but they won't touch the topic in class with a ten foot pole.

Among the sad/funny anecdotes -- one survey shows that one-third of high school biology teachers believe in creationism or at least think it should be taught.

Another good comment:

"There is no credible scientific challenge to the idea that all living things evolved from common ancestors, that evolution on earth has been going on for billions of years and that evolution can be and has been tested and confirmed by the methods of science. But in a 2001 survey, the National Science Foundation found that only 53 percent of Americans agreed with the statement "human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals."" says the New York Times.

"And this was good news to the foundation. It was the first time one of its regular surveys showed a majority of Americans had accepted the idea. According to the foundation report, polls consistently show that a plurality of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form about 10,000 years ago, and about two-thirds believe that this belief should be taught along with evolution in public schools."

God help us.
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