Brian's Endorsement for President of the United States

brian on 2008.02.04 at 11:58 am

Brian’s Political Endorsement Announcement is on his personal blog, North by NorthEast.

Original art credit, OBEY GIANT Art.

Posted in: Politics

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Our Voting System Sucks

brian on 2008.01.06 at 09:50 pm

For a long time, it’s been obvious that our voting system (“plurality,” sometimes called “Winner take all”) sucks.

Proof of this is easy: the 2000 Presidential election, where more Americans wanted someone left of center to lead our country (Nader, Gore) rather than the neo-con George W. Bush. Yet, Bush became our national nightmare.

It’s un-democratic to say someone should run for elected office just because their supporters would vote for someone else if said candidate did not run. Yet, that is the best we can say about people like Ralph Nader. And that’s just wrong.

In the United States we use this system almost exclusively, but in other parts of the world, other system are functioning in a more fair manner.

There’s an excellent interview with author William Poundstone who discusses the options, what is most fair and what our chances are at fixing our broken system

You simply knowing that there are better systems than our current one, is a good first step.

Posted in: Politics

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Mahmoud the Mouth

brian on 2007.12.05 at 04:47 pm

Did you know Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad President blogs? At least by his interpretation.

Does he link to Perez Hilton?

Posted in: Politics · Web

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Olbermann to Bush/Cheney: Resign.

brian on 2007.07.03 at 09:35 pm

Keith Olbermann on his show, Countdown, this evening calling for the resignation of President Bush and Vice President Cheney

A wonderfully stated argument for the resignation of our national leaders who have betrayed the trust of the nation. Text version here.

PS- Hi, MSNBC? This is 2007 calling. It’s time for embedding of shared video. Even Comedy Central has it. Sheesh. MS? Pathetic.

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Bush commutes Libby's prison sentence

brian on 2007.07.02 at 05:51 pm

Bush commutes Libby’s prison sentence – CNN.com

How can the people of our nation visit justice upon the executive branch if they can write themselves get-out-of-jail-free cards? I think the law should be changed so that the executive branch cannot break the law, be convicted by a jury of American citizens, and then simply say “We disagree and you can do nothing about it.”

This is fascism.

added: White House Phone number: 202-456-1111

Posted in: Politics

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The Donald on The Decider

brian on 2007.03.21 at 07:34 pm

Well, you can’t say the Donald pulls his punches.

Read on to see the video clip. (YouTube’s player doesn’t squeeze into our layout!)

via Delhux.

Read More

Posted in: Politics

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Al Franken for U.S. Senate

brian on 2007.02.14 at 09:29 pm

Al Franken is running for Senate in Minnesota.

If I could vote for him, I would.

Watch the video on his site. It is the best introductory video for a politician ever.

Also, the site is the most attractive “for office” website I’ve seen.

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Cell phones can now be unlocked.

jake on 2006.11.26 at 06:39 pm

While a lot of the exemptions are narrow focused and make me sad the cell phone unlocking is a good deal. It’s nice to know that the Librarian of Congress agrees with me.

“This is a noninfringing activity by the user… The purpose of the software lock appears to be limited to restricting the owner’s use of the mobile handset to support a business model, rather than to protect access to a copyrighted work itself.”

Starting tomorrow everyone can receive a phone through any carrier and unlock it without fear of repercussion. Once unlocked you can take your phone to another cell provider. Sadly this does not seem to prevent lock in to a network, so Verizon and Sprint could possibly still restrict you in other nefarious ways.

The absolutely terrible DMCA does not apply to cell phone lock in. Hooray and goodnight!

Cell phone unlocking legal (for three years) (from Phonescoop)

Update: Cory’s not as enthusiastic…

Posted in: Technology · Politics

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Koppel in Iran

brian on 2006.11.20 at 11:02 pm

This should be required viewing and I am afraid that being on the Discovery Channel, not a mostly news channel, may limit its exposure, but everyone should watch Ted Koppel’s Iran: Most Dangerous Nation.

The subtitle, by the way is that is not Ted’s conclusion, and the 2-hour special is his answer.

You should watch this and see how little you know about Iran.

Posted in: Politics

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All Politics are Local

brian on 2006.11.08 at 08:07 pm

Lots to talk about tonight, the day after our midterm elections.

By now, it’s pretty clear that America has stepped up with a record turn out for a midterm election to make a statement to those in power:

“You suck. Now go home.”

There’s a number of good things that have come as result. The most hateful member of Congress, Rick Santorum has been decisively run out of town.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has been shown the door by one of his biggest fans, Our Dear Leader, who is now forced to cave into the public’s will. You know, like democracy.

This reaffirms my faith that I may not have to move to Montana and start my own micronation and matching militia. Of course, now I’ll have to find another use for those 200 black berets with small red stars.

Locally, my home state has elected its first ever African-American governor, and in landslide fashion. Deval Patrick carried possible definable category, across income levels, with exception to those identifying themselves as strongly conservatives. The only other group that was considered strong for the Republican candidate Kerry Healey was white protestants. The great margin she had with that group was 50%.

America has awakened. And she has spoken.

Posted in: Politics

2 Comments

No fly lists still failing

jake on 2006.10.21 at 12:35 pm

Many intelligent people recognize the fact that the security measures put in place at airports are reactionary instead of preventative and lack strength. A recent report by CBS found that the no-fly lists are doing more harm than good. Instead of stopping terrorists, they have so many false positives that everyday citizens are harassed and humilitated every time they arrive at the airport.

The report found that the list was outdated, incomplete and lacking logic.

The part that increases my blood pressure the most is the blatent lack of pertinent information. The lists contain only a few pieces of information on each suspected terrorist. So when you see a seventy-eight year old man from Idaho who looks nothing like the thirty-two year old terrorist from a foreign country you’d imagine he wouldn’t be bothered. According to the report he will be singled out and detained for an undetermined amount of time.

But Cathy Berrick says things are not going well. “So it’s three years later and the program still isn’t fielded,” she says.

She says an estimated $144 million has been spent on Secure Flight. Asked what taxpayers got for their money, Berrick says “nothing tangible yet.”

For that amount of time and money you would think they would have the ability to actually create a database of suspected terrorists and keep track of actual relevant data. Leaving the “Robert Johnsons” of the world to fly to Cleveland, on business, in peace.

Unlikely Terrorists On No Fly List (from Boing Boing)

Posted in: Politics · Travel

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Olbermann vs Rumsfeld

brian on 2006.09.01 at 11:48 pm

Wow. Olbermann tears Rumsfeld a new one over Rumsfeld’s speech to the American Legion. Watch the video.

Posted in: Politics

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Truth about America

brian on 2006.08.15 at 09:42 am

An excellent post from the “Best of Craigslist” on the realities of America. Ripe with citations, too.

Top 5 Myths About America

George Washington, the Father of our country, and John Adams (Second President of the USA) CLEARLY stated in the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli: “The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion.”

Do liberals hate America? No, in fact they care so much about the USA that they fight so aggressively to make it better. They’re not anti-American; they’re just anti-stupidity. Do liberals hate American policies? Sometimes, but only the self-destructive ones that threaten human rights, liberty, democracy, justice, inquiry, excellence and reason— the values that our country was founded upon.

Posted in: Politics

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Important read: The Military and the Skies on Sept. 11th

brian on 2006.08.03 at 01:24 am

9/11 Live: The NORAD Tapes is a story by Michael Bronner, an associate producer of the film United 93, in which he recaps the events that occured within the The Northeast Air Defense Sector HQ, based on recently declassified tapes of the event. He painstakingly got hold of the tapes that the military didn’t even give willingly to the 9/11 commission. Strangely enough, Bronner’s take is that the tapes show the military in better light than the testimony they gave in person did.

Anyhow, you should read it. I think it’s important to know how hard these people worked to try to do anything to protect our country when it was under attack. Unfortunately, lack of proper communications channels, modern equipment and yes, even armed jets (only a handful of armed jets sit ready to defend the home of the \$400 trillion dollar military? this boggles me) worked against these dedicated officers. Being unable to find a passenger jet on 1960’s radar screens only to look up and see it collide with a skyscraper on CNN must be tough for people who also ironically command stealth aircraft and have spy satellites that can read license plates…

Posted in: Politics

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Today's Dose of Ignorance

brian on 2006.07.22 at 12:30 am

As I rode the bus home from work late last night (um, two hours ago) I was sitting behind this middle aged man, who seemed to be leaving work at Sears. He still had his lanyard on. As he sat in the seat in front of mine, I opened up a hardbound copy of Ann Coulter’s newest book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism

I happened to read a passage over the shoulder of this gentleman, of which he was giggling to himself over. She was making the argument that AIDS is a homosexual disease and “we’re still waiting for that heterosexual outbreak.”

Hmm, I wonder how many babies are born with AIDS due to being conceived during a homosexual encounter? This last statement makes approximately the same amount of sense as her arguments. There you have it. 1 in 4 people in Africa are clearly people who have homosexual sex. Magic Johnson must have too.

Brilliant.

I just hope the guy was giggling due to the sheer ridiculousness of her argument. I fear that was not the case, however.

Posted in: Politics · Science

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Truthiness to Power

brian on 2006.06.19 at 12:19 am

Stephen Colbert asks the sponsor of a bill in Congress forcing the display of the Ten Commandments in couthouses, etc. the important questions:

What better place to display the Ten Commandments than a public building?

What are the Ten Commandments?

Click the link for the answers.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Wired Releases AT&T/NSA Whistleblower Information

jake on 2006.05.22 at 02:28 pm

Earlier today Wired released the information from former AT&T technician, Mark Klein. This all revolves around the NSA wiretapping debacle and includes a followup to explain.

Former AT&T technician Mark Klein is the key witness in the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s class-action lawsuit against the telecommunications company, which alleges that AT&T cooperated in an illegal National Security Agency domestic surveillance program.

Why isn’t there more of a fallout for crap like this?

Posted in: Politics · Recent Events

0 Comments

Utah Democrat uses wiki for promotion

brian on 2006.05.02 at 01:09 pm

There’s an interview in Wired News with the Democrat who is looking to unseat the senior Senator from Utah, Orrin Hatch (aka, “The Man’s Right-Hand Man”) who is also noted for thinking the global climate crisis is “science-fiction.”

Additionally, Pete Ashdown actually has a wiki where you can help shape his policy. His best policy is based around his support of transparency in government. Hallelujah.

Posted in: Technology · Politics · Web

0 Comments

Careful what you blog

brian on 2006.04.28 at 06:47 pm

Lance Dutson was just doing what bloggers do: reporting when they see something stupid. In this case, he thought his home state of Maine was flushing his tax money down the drain with a poor PR campaign for the state’s tourism. Tourism is the number one money maker for the state.

But apparently that’s not OK with Warren Kremer Paino Advertising , a New York-based ad agency who the State was hired to draft the campaign.

When Dutson reposted images that were currently viewable for public inspection on the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development website, and critiqued them… that was the final straw, and he was sued by Warren Kremer Paino Advertising claiming defamation, libel, and copyright infringement. To the tune of more than a million dollars.

Lance is a man who is a web designer and who has a family, and is a self-described “middle of the road” Maine citizen. But if he’s looses, they’ll be in the poor house.

All because Warren Kremer Paino Advertising is miffed that Lance didn’t like their work.

I’m going out on a limb here… I don’t like it either .

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Unbelievable - Bush strikes again

brian on 2006.04.25 at 09:29 pm

I am besides myself… Bush strikes again! This time, in order to lower gasoline prices… instead of taking to task oil companies… he’s doing them a favor: he’s allowing them to break the law by not adding ethanol to the gas which reduces emissions.

Do we really think they’ll pass that savings on at the pump? I wouldn’t put my money on it. Why do we have an EPA, when if the President doesn’t like their “science” he can simply repeal it?

Once more he proves that any situation he can get this country into… he can make worse.

Posted in: Politics · Science

0 Comments

Historians: Bush Worst Ever

brian on 2006.04.24 at 06:47 pm

The Worst President in History? One of America’s leading historians assesses George W. Bush

“George W. Bush’s presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace. Barring a cataclysmic event on the order of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, after which the public might rally around the White House once again, there seems to be little the administration can do to avoid being ranked on the lowest tier of U.S. presidents. And that may be the best-case scenario. Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history.”

Posted in: Politics

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Petition: Don't nuke Iran

brian on 2006.04.12 at 07:38 pm

Don’t Nuke Iran

The irony of nuking a country because they may eventually make nuclear weapons and then threaten to use them… is too much for my mind to process.

Sign the petition.

Posted in: Politics

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Bush has Nuclear Weapons on the table in Iran

brian on 2006.04.09 at 09:54 pm

Who’s more dangerous? The leader of Iran, who thinks “Israel should be wiped off the map,” but lacks the firepower to do it (and would have a hell of a fight on its hands if it attempted, seeing that Israel is one of the most militarily advanced countries on the planet and is armed to the teeth). Or the leader of the United States, who is considering a nuclear attack on Iran… ironically to… wait for it… stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons…

Seymour Hersh, citing sources deep with in the administration’s war planning, reports for the New Yorker:

One of the military’s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites.

Mr. Hersh also broke the story on Abu Ghraib.

Is anyone else absolutely scared shitless over what this president will do next? What does he need to do to be impeached?

Am I being alarmist? I supported the president’s threat of war in the current Iraq debacle, citing its use in prompting a stand down by Hussein’s regime. But then he just blew down the doors anyway, and later we learned he had planned to go in all a long, and long before any of the reasons he cited were actually dreamed up, and long after their rebuke.

Yes, Iran clearly needs attention. More than Iraq ever needed. And the world has it under a microscope. Countries that are much closer to the ramifications of an aggressive Iran are being much less confrontational, doesn’t that tell us something? Would we be threatening nukes if a strong wind could blow fallout over our borders? Not a chance. And don’t believe for a moment that bunker busters that dig deep into the ground release any less radiation into the environment.

A nuclear weapon against a nearly unstoppable aggressive empire that had attacked half a continent was an experiment in decisive military action that may have in the end saved more lives than it cost. But, the creators of the bomb itself questioned its use. The ethics of that is still being debated to this day, and beyond, more than 60 years later. What does that tell us?

“What will 1.2 billion Muslims think the day we attack Iran?”

We need to stop Bush, and now.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Jill Carroll Freed

jake on 2006.03.30 at 09:17 am

Well I haven’t been remotely politial for months. But I just had to point out the fact that Jill Carroll has been free by her captors.

Jill was captured on January 7^th^ enroute to interview Iraqi politician Adnan al-Dulaimi. Thankfully she has been released.

Boing Boing has been keeping up to date on this issue for the last couple months.

Posted in: Politics · Recent Events

0 Comments

Biz: break the law, there are no penalties

brian on 2006.03.19 at 08:41 am

Good news! If you start a business, and break the law, you don’t need to pay the fines!

Which, is just great. The Fed is waiting on about \$35Billion in fines, mostly from white collar crime. In many cases, the huge fines announced in press conferences, is whittled down to pennies on the dollar. Yup, that’s a deterrent!

Is anyone else noticing the continuing trend here? Own a company, you’re in like sin! The current administration is certainly a hospitable host!

Posted in: Politics

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Bush knew Katrina would breech levees

brian on 2006.03.02 at 08:46 am

Contrary to his own public statements (“Who could have predicted…?”), President George Bush knew that the force of Hurricane Katrina would breech New Orleans’ levee system. Last night the AP released previously secret tapes and transcripts where both Bush and Homeland Security were briefed with shocking accuracy of what effect Katrina would have on the Gulf region.

WASHINGTON – On the eve of Hurricane Katrina’s fateful landfall, President Bush was confident. His homeland security chief appeared relaxed. And warnings of the coming destruction — breached or overrun levees, deaths at the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelming needs for post-storm rescues — were delivered in dramatic terms to all involved. All of it was captured on videotape.The Associated Press obtained the confidential government video and made it public Wednesday, offering Americans their own inside glimpse into the government’s fateful final Katrina preparations after months of fingerpointing and political recriminations.

“My gut tells me … this is a bad one and a big one,” then-federal disaster chief Michael Brown told the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.

The president didn’t ask a single question during the briefing but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: “We are fully prepared.”
—Associated Press via Yahoo!News

This should serve as evidence that all White House records should be public, and that anything else is an absolute outrage.

Posted in: Politics

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NASA's continued censorship

brian on 2006.02.06 at 02:42 pm

“A week after NASA’s top climate scientist complained that the space agency’s public-affairs office was trying to silence his statements on global warming, the agency’s administrator, Michael D. Griffin, issued a sharply worded statement yesterday calling for ‘scientific openness’ throughout the agency.”

“It is not the job of public-affairs officers,” Dr. Griffin wrote in an e-mail message to the agency’s 19,000 employees, “to alter, filter or adjust engineering or scientific material produced by NASA’s technical staff.”

The statement came six days after The New York Times quoted the scientist, James E. Hansen, as saying he was threatened with “dire consequences” if he continued to call for prompt action to limit emissions of heat-trapping gases linked to global warming. He and intermediaries in the agency’s 350-member public-affairs staff said the warnings came from White House appointees in NASA headquarters.”

“Source: New York Times Article”:http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/science/04climate.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

Why does everyday seem more like 1984? Spying on citizens, censorship of the government’s own scientists? Where will it end?

Posted in: Politics · Science

0 Comments

Rejoice

brian on 2005.12.16 at 01:19 pm

The Congress has heard us yell, and apparently, it’s starting to sink in.

Senate Rejects Extensions to the Patriot Act.

Especially good news on the hells of the NYTimes reporting

Bush authorized the National Security Agency to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds — perhaps thousands — of people inside the United States. Previously, the NSA typically limited its domestic surveillance to foreign embassies and missions and obtained court orders for such investigations.

Finally, I think we have a chink in the armor of the continuously dangerous Bush Administration.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Family Guy, Bathroom privacy, Tim Tom Short, Jon Stewart, How cancer spreads, Ann Coulter at UConn

jake on 2005.12.08 at 01:11 pm

Before Stewart launched his highly successful comedic career, he played intercollegiate soccer at the College of William and Mary. As a member of The Tribe’s team from 1981 to 1983, he scored 10 goals and was credited with 12 assists for a total of 32 career points. As a senior, he scored William and Mary’s lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Connecticut which helped propel The Tribe to the ECAC title and the school’s second appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Posted in: Politics · Science · Television

1 Comments

1000 Executions in the US.

brian on 2005.12.02 at 07:02 am

The 1,000 US citizen since 1977 has been executed by his own government. 121 countries around the world have banned state-sactioned executions.

The top four countries who execute their own citizens are China, Vietnam, Iran, and the United States.

Additionally, 80% of executions are carried out by southern states. Texas has nearly triple the number of killed citizens, 354, for the next most deadly state, Virginia, 94. South Carolina will be executing its 35th citizen in a few days.

Posted in: Politics · Recent Events

0 Comments

iPod Porn?

jake on 2005.11.16 at 04:28 pm

I was kinda upset that I didn’t get to this topic sooner because Techdirt already picked it up. That always seems to happen.

Now that iPod’s can display video people are starting to discuss what to do when all the smut comes along. There are a few problems with this line of thinking. It’s very alarmist and uneducated.

However, the ability of parents to monitor is seriously undermined if their children quickly can download adult content onto their iPods and then take it away from the home for easy viewing elsewhere.

Sure it’s a little easier now, but you could already do this with things like CD’s. And never forget how resourceful kids are. Thirteen year old boys have had hidden stashes of Playboys and VHS tapes of naughty things for years. Of course kids aren’t going to be watching this in school or something. The only thing this adds is now instead of taking a CD to Jimmy’s house, you can bring a device with the display built in.

Yet, iPods are becoming so ubiquitous and are so small, they are an easy vehicle for bringing pornography into the workplace. Employees discreetly could try to view pornography away from the watch of others. By engaging in such behavior, they often could be distracted from their true work functions, and problematically, they might contribute to an inappropriate and potentially hostile work environment to the extent the iPod porn is seen by others.

OK, again, we’re just changing the medium in which the content is carried. Sure I have a little screen now but the only thing work can actively prevent you from doing is downloading NSFW material. They could never stop you from viewing it as long as you don’t get caught. A person could just as easily download pornographic material at home and bring it to work on a USB thumb drive.

Obviously you should not be bringing pornography to work. Well I guess maybe if you work in the porn industry you get a by. But in general, it’s already not allowed, so you shouldn’t do it. But banning a piece of technology just because it could be used in an inappropriate way is ridiculous.

Posted in: Technology · Politics

0 Comments

Global Happiness Indicators

brian on 2005.10.06 at 11:57 am

The world looks to Bhutan for leadership when it comes to measuring and increasing the happiness of its citizenry.

A New Measure of Well-Being From a Happy Little Kingdom [NYT page will sadly expire]

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Disasterous

brian on 2005.09.09 at 10:00 pm

(via snopes)

Related: Kayne West Remixed by “The Legendary K.O.” “Golddigger” goes political with Kayne’s statement “George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People.”:http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/02.html#a4762

OurMedia : George Bush Doesn’t Like Black People Kayne West / The Legendary K.O. MP3 320kbs 3m48sec

I don’t know if I 100% agree with Kayne’s statement (although I do with his frustration), but his chorus certainly could be “I ain’t sayin’ he’s a golddigger, but he ain’t messin’ with no po’ people…”

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

New Orleans Reaction

brian on 2005.09.06 at 09:20 am

Keith Olbermann speaking on MSNBC in regards to the governmental response to New Orleans. “(Transcript)”:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/

Watch it.

(Thanks, Damien and 1GM)

Louisiana is a city that is under water. – “Michael Chertoff(Secretary, Dept. of Homeland Defense)”:http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/biography/biography_0116.xml

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

National Guard Deployments and Katrina Relief

brian on 2005.08.30 at 10:43 am

Despite reports that the National Guard has enough troops to respond to the growing disaster in aftermath of Hurricane Katrina around the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama region, I’d still be much more comfortable if the National Guard was, um, guarding the nation.

About 35 percent of Louisiana’s National Guardsmen and 37 percent of Mississippi’s have been deployed to Iraq. Shouldn’t we have 100% of our Guard available at home?

Someone had their email read on CNN yesterday asking if the world would send help to the US, like the US sent to aid Tsunami relief. Whereas I understand where he’s coming from… we send enormous amount of aid to the whole world, more than any other country, and get very little credit for it. However, there are two truths, one, we are the richest country in the world, and we can afford to give. Two, you can’t buy friends. We will be judged by our actions, not our dollars. And the world will look at our actions they don’t like before the ones they’re thankful for. And the world is looking at our actions in Iraq.

In recent years our National Guard has seen more deployments overseas. I think that’s a role for our full-time military and reserves. The National Guard belongs at home. 100%.

Posted in: Politics · Recent Events · Weather

2 Comments

Judge John Roberts

brian on 2005.07.20 at 10:05 am

Here’s some information on President Bush’s nominee, Judge John Roberts

• Roberts appears to want to limit the scope of the Endangered Species Act, and in papers he wrote while in law school he supported far-right legal theories about “takings” which would make it almost impossible for the government to enforce most environmental legislation.
• He opposed clean air rules and worked to help coal companies strip-mine mountaintops.
• Roberts worked to keep Congress from defending parts of the Voting Rights Act.
• As a appeals court judge, Roberts ruled that the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to some prisoners of war.
• Roberts argued that schools should be able to impose religious speech on attendees.
• Roberts wrote that “Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overruled.” He also weighed in on behalf of Operation Rescue, a violent anti-abortion group, in a federal case.

• As a lawyer he argued (and won) the case that stopped some doctors from even discussing abortion.

If that disturbs you, here’s a petition you can sign to ask your representitives to oppose his nomination as your lifetime proxy on the highest court in the United States. And by the way, since this links to MoveOn.org, just to mention, there’s been some talk that MoveOn is some sort of ultra-leftist organization. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Read their stuff and see if it aligns with your own. Don’t let some talking head on the boob-tube tell you what to think.

Posted in: Politics · Recent Events

0 Comments

Eject KR

brian on 2005.07.12 at 10:58 pm

If you think exposing an undercover CIA agent as political retribution is wrong, or maybe just treasonous, then perhaps you’d like to Fire Karl Rove.

Personally, I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg of the unsavory things the current administration participates in as a matter of daily operations. The Bush administration in my opinion makes the Nixon administration look like a pack of Boy Scouts.

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Downing Street Memo

brian on 2005.06.13 at 02:14 pm

Getting very little news coverage in the United States is this document called the Downing Street Memo. The DSM is a secret British government document detailing information gleaned from the United States during meetings prior to the Iraq War.

The highlights include…

The minutes detail how our government did not believe Iraq was a greater threat than other nations; how intelligence was “fixed” to sell the case for war to the American public; and how the Bush Administration’s public assurances of “war as a last resort” were at odds with their privately stated intentions.

When asked, British officials “did not dispute the document’s authenticity.” and a senior American official has described it as “absolutely accurate.” Yet the Bush administration continues to simultaneously sidestep the issue while attempting to cast doubt on the memo’s authenticity.

Go check it out.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Community Networks Under Attack

brian on 2005.06.12 at 06:54 pm

A bill just introduced in Congress would take away the right of cities
and towns across the country to provide citizens with universal,
low-cost Internet access.

Giant cable and telephone companies don’t want any competition — which
might actually force them to offer lower prices, higher speeds and
service to rural and urban areas.

U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) — a former telephone company
executive — has introduced a bill (HR 2726) that would let cable and
telecom companies shut down municipal and community efforts to offer
broadband services.

You can stop this outrageous bill. Send a message to your representative now.

Read More

Posted in: Technology · Politics

0 Comments

Our administration needs to stop screwing with science

jake on 2005.06.08 at 03:25 pm

We’ve already heard a bunch of times about how our government is setting us back by manipulating facts. So much for our freedoms.

Philip Cooney, chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, made changes to descriptions of climate research that had already been approved by government scientists and their supervisors, the newspaper said, citing internal documents.

Update: Wonkette has a little more on the subject. Accompanied with a lovely quote…

Original scientist version: “Many scientific observations indicate that the Earth is undergoing a period of relatively rapid change.”

Same version after a cool blast of Cooney: “Many scientific observations point to the conclusion that the Earth may be undergoing a period of relatively rapid change.”

Posted in: Politics · Science

0 Comments

Republicans Attempt to Break Congress

brian on 2005.05.22 at 07:55 pm

I’ve tried to keep politics to a minimum here, save for the truly horrific. This is truly horrific.

The Republicans are attempting to change the way Congress works by removing the long standing “filibuster.” Quite simply, the Democrats are going to filibuster to right-wing extremist judicial nominees, and the Republicans don’t appreciate that they do not have the power to work around a filibuster. So since they can’t play by the rules, they are attempting to change them, with a tactic they call “The Nuclear Option.”

What can you do to prevent the Republicans from breaking our important system of checks and balances? Write your Congressperson! Here’s a link to a petition where you may state your opposition to the nuclear option, and it will be hand delivered to the appropriate parties. Do not wait. The vote is Tuesday May 24th.

Act now.

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

US Universal Health Coverage GOOD For Business

brian on 2005.05.01 at 09:32 pm

I was just reading through Matt Haughey’s feed and found he shares a sentiment that I concur with, and have for a long time:

I’ve also long believed if we could offer healthcare for all in the US, the explosion of creativity and entrepreneurism could have the potential to pay for it. I know many smart, motivated people filled with ideas that work boring jobs just so they can have healthcare for their family. Who knows how many business ideas, technology applications, and clever inventions are going to never see the light of day because their creators waste away at a desk somewhere. In that respect I see universal healthcare as good for business, since small business owners are off the hook for paying for it and everyone with a good idea won’t be terrified of leaving their job behind to pursue their dreams.

Amen. How much easier would working for yourself be? America is a simmering pot of creativity. This would let it finally boil over…

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Boycott ANWR Oil

brian on 2005.04.15 at 11:13 pm

More news on ANWR. I have signed up for California Senator Barbara Boxer’s ANWR Oil Boycott.

Now, really, it’ll be nearly impossible to tell if one company drills there, if the gas you’re buying from another company didn’t come from there anyhow, since oil is a commodity bought and sold. Or I might buy a pair of fleece socks that were made from the oil from the refuge. I’ll never know. But I think it’s the sentiment. If it’s Exxon let’s say, I’d be happy to simple go across the street to the competition.

Posted in: Politics · Science

0 Comments

More and More Everyday

brian on 2005.03.31 at 10:36 pm

More and more everyday our country is being silenced by its GOP leaders. It’s come to the point where young Americans who disagree with their President are identified and removed from public events where the President will speak, prior to the event.

The un-American actions of the Republican party have been also documented in the Denver Post.

The President is even embarrassing us overseas, as the Guardian reports the same un-American conduct even to one of our last allies in Britain.

Why isn’t this front page news, or leading the nightly network news broadcasts?

Posted in: Politics · Recent Events

0 Comments

Torturers Even Disgusted

brian on 2005.03.17 at 10:13 am

I’ve refrained in recent months from posting a lot of political commentary here, because it was simply making me angry. I wanted our blog to be a more upbeat place. Well, after reading a piece in the Boston Globe, I must break my vow of silence.

It seems that things are getting so bad at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, that the Navy wanted to pull out of all involvement with the interrogation proceedings. Earlier, the FBI had similar concerns. This is an outrage.

How many year can you torture someone, and continue to get new and current and pertinent information out of someone you’ve had in detention for several years? Does this make sense to anyone?

And all of this leads me to ask, has there ever been an administration in our White House more criminal than the current? I mean George II is beginning to make Nixon look like a Teddy Bear. And that analogy makes the bear’s name sake, Theodore Roosevelt (the greatest Republican president) simply roll over in his grave.

This President is leading this country down the road of international ruin.

Posted in: Politics · Recent Events

0 Comments

Problems with the current Stem Cell Lines

jake on 2005.01.24 at 03:54 pm

I’m sure you’ve all heard about how the current Administration views stem cells and the “problems with their “science. . To summarize, although there are points to be made on both sides, they would have you think that to gather stem cells we’re massacring babies. Not quite true.

Now to add to the problem, some of the methods used to grow the current cells and use them for development could be contaminating them.

When embryonic stem cells are added to serum from human blood, antibodies stick to the cells. This suggests the cells are seen as foreign, and that transplanting them into the body would trigger the immune system to reject them.

The administration still hasn’t gotten its head out of its ass on this issue.

From: Wired
Nature

Posted in: Politics · Science

0 Comments

Weaken U.S. Endangered Species Law?

jake on 2005.01.10 at 04:47 pm

Although not all laws are perfect, I find it troubling that a bunch of greedy assholes are interested in damaging the U.S. Endangered Species Law. It might benefit from some tweaking, but naturally big industries want to damage its effectiveness.

But Ralph Morgenweck, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, argues that rules are strict because a species is not listed until it is at death’s door. “The species are in bad shape. They didn’t get that way overnight and it will not go in the other direction overnight,” he said.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Track Your Government

brian on 2005.01.09 at 11:05 am

I’m surprised that it took so long for someone to build such a tool, but at last http://www.govtrack.us/ has come, allowing you to keep tabs on your representative. Thanks so much to Joshua Tauberer for doing this. Your country will be grateful.

Posted in: Technology · Politics

0 Comments

US Voting Facts

brian on 2005.01.04 at 02:41 pm

Just in case you were wondering, people are still investigating the presidential voting. There’s plenty of reasons why they are doing that. . Sketchy indeed.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Rein in the Vote

brian on 2004.12.29 at 09:38 pm

Lisa Rein is the web’s source for information on the 2004 National Voting Debacle. This link has a very thorough fleshing out of what’s going on.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Internet Politics

brian on 2004.11.14 at 06:10 pm

There's an awesome story about the Net effect on politics, written by Micah Sifry at The Nation.

Posted in: Politics · Web

0 Comments

Fix Voting

brian on 2004.11.10 at 10:55 am

On top of my repeated pleas for instant runoff voting, I also endorse these voting reforms in this NYTimes editorial.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

The Bush/Cheney Mandate

brian on 2004.11.04 at 06:32 pm

The Vice President –

"President George W. Bush won the greatest number of popular votes of any presidential candidate in history," marveled Vice President Dick Cheney while introducing his boss. "President Bush ran forthrightly on a clear agenda for this nation's future, and the nation responded by giving him a mandate." (Via Washington Times)

He forgot to mention that more people voted against the President than any incumbent in history. Does 55,435,808 votes for Kerry (and add in all the third party votes here) sound like a country asking for a more extreme, radical right-wing agenda than we've endured for the last four years? I think not. Will it stop them? Obviously not.

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Someone thinks Kerry won.

brian on 2004.11.04 at 12:50 pm

I was waiting for this. Greg Palast has written an article that says Kerry votes have been thrown out in OH, and NM in significant enough numbers to effect the outcome of the election. Take it as you will.

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Electoral Maps

brian on 2004.11.04 at 12:03 pm

A lot of people are linking to this map in USA today, showing a red/blue breakdown of the country by county. I have a different take on it.

This is the USA Today page from where the map comes from. I'm not sure what grey means. Note that the blue is where all the population is. Look at New York State, for instance. Easily blue, is in fact mostly red, 'cept a few university counties (center: Colgate, Ithica, Binghampton Syracuse), and NYC, which is hard to see in this graphic, because its geographically small, but people are stacked up on top of each other.

Also, check out the one county of Idaho that went to Kerry – that's where Sun Valley is, where he has a home. Also, I've noticed that a lot of the scattered blue counties are near things like National Parks (Glacier in Montana, Yellowstone in WY, Grand Canyon in AZ, Black Hill of SD, Voyageurs in Minn, Isle Royal in the Upper Penninsula in Michigan). Is that not fascinating? Wouldn't these people know what's best for the environment?

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Some more shockwaves from Nov. 2nd

jake on 2004.11.04 at 09:18 am

I'd like to add a few more bullets modeled after Brian's.

• The rest of the world is gonna keep picking on us. - Being an Internet user who reads a heck of a lot (way more than I read books, which I'd like to change) I've been hearing complaints for a while. The backlash has already started, even from our guests.
• Here's one for all you conspiracy theorists out there. We all know how crappy the electronic voting machines are. Well apparently the CEO of Diebold made a statement last year about how he was going to help Bush win the election. Does anyone else see a problem with saying something like, I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president when you run a company that deals with voting?
• And apparently someone at CNN doesn't think very highly of Bush. Luckily Joi Ito took some screen shots for you to view.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Three More Things

brian on 2004.11.03 at 06:54 pm

• Dan Gillmor on the Next Four Years
• Dave Weinberger on progressive problem points
• I don’t think Hillary is going to appeal to the red states in 2008, or perhaps ever. The Dems want so desperately to recreate the Bill Clinton years, that they’re living in the past. The Democrats need desperately to rebuild and move on from the Clinton years. They need to look for new stars. Politics as usual will be beaten by the Republicans, they play the game better. The game must be fundamentally changed, and Dean was right to start sniffing up that tree…

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Post Mortum

brian on 2004.11.03 at 06:47 pm

We're dead for another four years. All I heard today from my friends here in Massachusetts (an American State, despite what our president insinuates) was "What happened?" "What's wrong with America?"

Well, here are some points.

• Kerry didn't successfully differentiate himself from George Bush to the disinterested crowd. As read elsewhere, a political scientist and an illiterate backward hick have the same voting power in the US (and the hick's got more if he lives in the right state), so a candidate has to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Kerry is nuanced, and thus a nuisance to those who don't like think hard.
• Terry McAuliffe sucks. He might as well be a Republican. Howard Dean is the only man who should be hired to chair the DNC. He's the only one with any resolve in the party. I want my country back, and there's little difference between the DNC and RNC right now, save that the RNC are organized and know how to win. They both play dirty, and I can't stand the thought of associating myself with either of them.
• Americans are bigots. I used to think that we had moved on, but hatred and fear still rule the day in America. Case in point: how many states voted to discriminate against citizens upon sexual preference? Can someone please tell me how a gay couple effects my hetero life in the least?
• Fear.
• Ignorance. This speaks directly towards those who ignore the encroachments on their civil liberties in the name of security. Those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither.
• Isolationism. Notice, with the exception of Florida (whose international politics are unique and the president's brother runs the show), all the states in the US who have significant contact with people from the rest of the world voted for Kerry. Notice these states are also the ones which make the majority of the GDP. The rest of the country wants to live in a bubble (PS- its us on the coasts that get attacked, while you vote to provoke more attacks– It'd be fine by me if they'd just start leveling buildings in Nebraska), and live off our dime.
• Minutes after Kerry conceded, the White House asked Congress to allow the country to take on more debt, so the President can spend some more money we don't have. Who cares, he'll be dead while I'm paying it off.

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Dems: Don't give in!!

brian on 2004.11.03 at 06:27 am

Note to Kerry: Let this ride out, do not concede!! We don't need to have a President until January. COUNT EVERY VOTE. Fight! America won't fall apart if we don't know who the next President is for a month or two.

UPDATE: They capitulated. Sissies.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Bush's Resume

brian on 2004.11.02 at 09:00 am

My friend Hux is hosting our president's resume and advertising it on his away message. Now he has a lot of people on his buddy list, but I'll link it here so a few more people may be able to see it, and perhaps even Google...

President George W. Bush's Resume Highlights follow…

I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.

I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.

I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.

I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.

I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Election Morning

brian on 2004.11.02 at 08:10 am

It's Election day morning in Brookline, and I got up early to go vote with Amanda when the polls opened. It's safe to say that we voted for the candidate who lives only about 2 miles or so from us.

Here are a few pictures. The first is Amanda and I at the polls, waiting in line, maybe about 20 minutes or so. Amanda will likely hate her half of the picture. Notice I am wearing a Red Sox hat. This is for two reasons: one, Kerry is a Sox fan, and the Sox have had good luck this year. Two, because if the Sox can win the World Series, anything can happen.

In precinct one in Brookline, you vote at a Wheelock College building at 43 Hawes Street (one block off of Beacon St.).

Incidentally, today (Tuesday) is trash day in my neighborhood. How appropriate.

Oh, and sadly, my precinct was one of only two in Brookline not voting on whether to resist the USA Patriot Act. I would have liked to register my opinion on that particular topic!

Posted in: Politics

1 Comments

Internet Vets for Truth

brian on 2004.10.29 at 10:25 pm

Videos to inform your voting on Tuesday, November 2. http://www.internetvetsfortruth.org/

Posted in: Politics · Web

0 Comments

Kerry Endorsements from Unlikely Sources

brian on 2004.10.28 at 10:38 pm

Jesse Ventura, former Independent Minnesota Governor, has endorsed John Kerry for President.

The Economist Has Endorsed John Kerry For President.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Links I've been reading

brian on 2004.10.27 at 08:47 am

With a minimum of comment:

Stern corners FCC's Powell on live radio

Farenheight 911 available for download, per MM's wishes.

Unofficial Democratic Attack Ads.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Chronicling Republicans for Kerry

brian on 2004.10.22 at 12:35 am

Republican Switchers aren't people giving up on their core values, but are giving up on their President as their elected representative. It has always boggled me that despite all the non-conservative things this president does (rack up enormous deficits, destroy civil liberties, lack of conservation of the environment, adding governmental agencies and complexities) that self-proclaimed conservatives still suck it up and say "he's got integrity." He's got balls, alright. That's what it takes to stick up for your own interests in the face of your party's ideals...

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Gutsy Editorial from Crawford, TX

brian on 2004.10.21 at 01:56 pm

You may have heard that GWB's hometown paper has endorsed John Kerry for President. This week they wrote a follow up editorial on the reaction they've received. Apparently, their staff are receiving threats of bodily harm because of their editor's views. Classy. You can read all of the letters sent to the editors on their site.

Posted in: Politics

2 Comments

Political Comment Spamming Strikes Us!

brian on 2004.10.21 at 12:01 pm

Karl Rove's rogue mobs are attacking our site. One of his foot soldiers has made it to our little, Google-friendly blog. He cuts and pastes pre-made (probably not by himself, even) propaganda and posts it on totally unrelated blog posts, and then signs the huge, long thing:

Richard Stewart
22517 Winchester Dr
Elkhart, IN 46514
Andejos@aol.com

He's posted (and we'll delete) in "NPR and web standards" and "FOX News sues Franken".

I've emailed him the following:

Stop comment-spamming us. You're type of comment spam is the most un-American type. Ever heard of freedom of speech? You have an opinion? Start your own weak-minded, Google friendly blog, and stop fucking with ours.

What do you think? Leave a legit comment below. We never delete on-topic comments, even if we disagree with them. See our Livestrong bracelet barter thread for proof. (FYI currently 3rd on Google for "livestrong band")

Posted in: Politics · Web

3 Comments

Jon Stewart on CNN's Crossfire

brian on 2004.10.19 at 11:54 am

If you haven't seen Jon Stewart telling the Crossfire shmucks 'what's up' then you should really go do that.

Lisa Rein has QuickTimes, points to WMVs, and a BitTorrent link to boot (fastest).

Download now. Rumor has it (via BB [see also]) that more people have seen this video than who watched it live on CNN. That's where the internet is going, damnit!

Posted in: Politics · Web

0 Comments

Build Your Own Conspiracy

brian on 2004.10.19 at 09:11 am

A compelling argument. Decide for yourself, where did Flight 77 go?

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Flip-Flop? Part II

brian on 2004.10.09 at 01:38 pm

The autumn 2004 collection of flip-flops. A must read. Very Funny, and educational to boot.

[by Aaron Eiseman]

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Kerry Wins Again

brian on 2004.10.09 at 01:20 pm

Clearly, once more the man who has substance to his views trounced the incumbent President last night in the second of the three Presidential debates.

How can undecideds look at these two and not see a compelling difference?

Kerry names names and quotes them, and speaks in specifics.

Bush says things like "It's hard work." Pauses, cracks a joke, pauses, pauses, and asks if his time is up. The President has no substance. He simply cannot compete when there is some else on the stage to challenge his vague half-truths, and misleading statements.

In contrast, to see the President in person at a campaign rally, you must sign a loyalty oath... not to jeer, hold negative signs, nor doubt your leader. Want to ask a question? They'd be happy to provide you with one, for which the President will have a canned answer ready.

Kerry lets anyone in. He'll even speak directly to a protester! Gasp!

That's our election in a nutshell. Either you're one of the President's people, or you don't exist. Of course, you do have a viable opportunity to reverse that situation.

Posted in: Politics

2 Comments

Flip-Flop?

brian on 2004.10.09 at 10:15 am

Who flip flops?

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Debate the Debates

brian on 2004.10.01 at 11:59 am

You should go and read these Top Ten Things they don't want you to know about the Presidential Debates. Debate head to head, without a moderator, that's what I'd like to see.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Take on the Debate

brian on 2004.10.01 at 10:51 am

Regarding the debate last night, to John Kerry, I hope he takes a lesson from this. He was brilliantly concise. That's all America via the media can handle. Good job John. Plus, Kerry is best when the President's shallow attacks are right in front of him to crush. Two more like last night and you'll be in good shape.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Wither Canada?

brian on 2004.10.01 at 10:15 am

Twice this morning I've read stories that pull down the Canadian state, saying it lacks vision, direction, purpose. They complain about a brain drain. Well, to Canada I say this. Don't measure your country by the size of your manhood military. Why kill off your young people just so you can "have more sway" in the world? Talk about braindrain. How about brain kill. If you have no enemies, I think that's probably a good thing. The only thing I'd be concerned about is not the intellectuals leaving, but them coming back. And even if they don't... worry not.

There will be a ton of America's (um, sorry... the United States') finest coming north in November should things go as many of us are afraid of... but for Canada, four more years of Bush means four more years of brain immigration north.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Get Fired for Supporting Kerry?

brian on 2004.09.16 at 09:53 am

This isn't the first story I've reported on someone being fired for supporting someone for President that their boss doesn't like. Sad really. I was going to blog it yesterday, but as luck would have it, the story got better today. Here's s a nice summary of the original story. Basically, she got fired for having a Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker, but her boss puts notes his employee's paychecks saying Bush is good for them, and more importantly him, and that his employees better remember that come election day.

Today, the story gets better...Kerry calls the fired woman. He says "He said, 'you let him know you're working for me as of today.'"

It seems Kerry is already creating jobs, where Bush is still losing them.

[apologies for my shodding blogging, just piggybacking on telescreen.org]

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Bush Docs Probably Authentic

brian on 2004.09.10 at 09:49 pm

Looks like CBS did their fact checking well. Despite a weblog entry that claimed CBS's papers documenting the strings that got pulled for the President in the Texas Air National Guard were forgeries...

There's an excellent debunking of the forgery claims here.

So, let's all go back to believing we now have evidence of what we previously had only strong suspicions: that our President is a slime ball.

Posted in: Politics · Web

0 Comments

Heavy Reading

brian on 2004.09.07 at 09:18 am

First, Sen Graham on the Bush Saudi cover up

Second, think GWB is a freeloading troublemaker? You're right, but check out his running mate Dick Cheney's shady history.

Third, check out the Republican party's rise from well outside the mainstream to making people think they are the mainstream.

It's fittingly titled "Tentacles of Rage: The Republican propaganda mill, a brief history"

By the way, reading any of these linked articles will clearly mark you as unpatriotic for life. You've been warned.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

The Greatest Failure of National Defense

brian on 2004.09.02 at 11:40 pm

Here in 2004, George W. Bush is running for reelection on a platform of tragedy—the single greatest failure of national defense in our history, the attacks of 9/11 in which 19 men with box cutters put this nation into a tailspin, a failure the details of which the White House fought to keep secret even as it ran the country into hock up to the hubcaps, thanks to generous tax cuts for the well-fixed, hoping to lead us into a box canyon of debt that will render government impotent, even as we engage in a war against a small country that was undertaken for the president’s personal satisfaction but sold to the American public on the basis of brazen misinformation, a war whose purpose is to distract us from an enormous transfer of wealth taking place in this country, flowing upward, and the deception is working beautifully.

-Garrison Keillor.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Bush's Speech

brian on 2004.09.02 at 11:27 pm

Wonderfully delivered Trash. Bush's speech was clearly the best of his life. Some wonderful prose, and a whole lot of unbacked up crap with tasty frosting on top.

Even if you don't like his policies, he says at least you know where he stands.

I know where he stands, and I'd rather take my chances with "the unknown." (Although we all know that JFK is no traitor) Let me also point out, for all the times he mentioned the word "peace," let us not forget he's responsible for thousands of deaths, both American soldiers, and tens of thousands of civilian Afghans and Iraqis.

John Kerry has seen death too, except in person. And in my opinion, he's much more dramatically more qualified as to the judicious use of force.

America, the choice is clear. The madness has to end this November. America, STEP UP.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Feds harrassing Independent Media

brian on 2004.08.31 at 09:18 pm

I try not to buy into the whole jack-booted thugs view of Federal Agents, but sometimes, they make that difficult.

"The agents attempted to circumvent Indymedia by contacting Calyx [the ISP] by phone, originally without a warrant or subpoena, in order to obtain user connection logs regarding a particular post on an Indymedia site. The post in question is a repost by an anonymous person containing information that is already available all over the Internet, and publicly available in other forms."

IndyMedia.org has plenty of info, including noting their representation by the ACLU and EFF. This is down right outrageous. Is Hoover running the FBI again?

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Diebold Voting Can Be Rigged

brian on 2004.08.31 at 08:41 pm

I don't know the veracity of the source, but it's such a stunning accusation, that it should be at least linked here. I can't say I have reason to doubt this. Why else would you not have a paper trail.

Issue: Manipulation technique found in the Diebold central tabulator -- 1,000 of these systems are in place, and they count up to two million votes at a time.

By entering a 2-digit code in a hidden location, a second set of votes is created. This set of votes can be changed, so that it no longer matches the correct votes. The voting system will then read the totals from the bogus vote set. It takes only seconds to change the votes, and to date not a single location in the U.S. has implemented security measures to fully mitigate the risks.

This program is not "stupidity" or sloppiness. It was designed and tested over a series of a dozen version adjustments.

Via Black Box Voting

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Two Down, You Next?

brian on 2004.08.29 at 08:30 pm

So far, two people I've become familiar with via the weblog world have been arrested in NYC, involving their use of the First Amendment.

One, of Bikes Against Bush fame, Joshua Kinberg. If you'd like to see video of his arrest, here's a link to a torrent of the arrest video QuickTime file (this will likely soon expire, and you'll need to have BitTorrent (free) to get it). He was, at the time, being interviewed by Ron Regan on MSNBC. Additionally, the incident was surrounded by cameras and reporters.

Two, Mike from Satan's Laundromat has too been taken down. It seems he was arrested while attending the monthly Critical Mass ride... monthly, held in hundreds of cities, and never before disrupted in NYC. He was detained for either a) riding his bike, or b) taking pictures of other people riding their bikes. Neither illegal, last time I checked. As for Critical Mass, "We're not blocking traffic, we are traffic!"

So, what does this mean for you? Well, if you're a friend of mine, or I've read about you on the web and you're going to express your opinions in accordance with the law in NYC at the RNC, you'll need to maintain a low profile to avoid a a Zip tie handcuffing in the new America.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

A star is born

brian on 2004.07.27 at 10:38 pm

As Chris Matthews said, "Tomorrow morning everyone will know the name Barack Obama." Indeed, a star is born in the Democratic party tonight. Have a look at the text of Obama's keynote speech from tonight. People will certainly remember tonight as the launch of this star into the stratosphere.

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

Day two from the DNC

brian on 2004.07.27 at 06:50 pm

Still in Boston, still not at the DNC, but that won't stop me from reporting! Traffic today again was light, although I am seeing a certain increase in bicycle commuters, not huge, but noticeable. My traffic reporters say their traffic coming from north of the city is the lightest they've ever seen. The "sky is falling" traffic warnings have scared traffic off the roads. Are they on vacation, or on alternate transit? If so, let's hope this whole affair encourages good habits! In other news, a T rider reports his ride in as "easy" as well. Go figure.

In other news, Amanda attended the event at the Royal Sonesta featuring Gov, Howard Dean, Michael Moore, Robert Reich and others. She was impressed. But it was somewhat progressive-tilted event, so it played to her tastes. She doesn't think Howard will be using the same speech tonight. In other news, she said Michael Moore was late to the event. That's because he was at the Starbucks down the mall from me. One of our managers spotted him there. Many of us at the store didn't picture MM as a Starbucks drinker, but then we figured despite some's desire to bash Starbucks, but they would be the least corporate place to get coffee in a mall. That, and it's the only place for coffee on that side of the mall.

That's all to report for now. Updates later...

Posted in: Politics

0 Comments

DNC- Live from Boston (blog)

brian on 2004.07.26 at 10:51 pm

So apparently the codeword at DNC Boston is "blog." It'll get you everywhere. I can tell you since I'm there (er, here). Of course, since this is the internet, you can't tell that I'm in Boston (I am) or if I'm across town (also true).

Well, blog, blog, blog. I'm terribly sick of the word. Weblog is much classier, but I'm so sick of it, I'm on the verge of calling it an Interweb journal. Anyhow, as someone who is a bit of a current events junky, and a web junky, the thought of having fellow web heads (noxious or not) at the convention cross town is quite cool. A step forward for the American public's connection to its political process, which it hasn't been in touch with for many, many years. The penultimate point of that disconnect was four years ago November.

Let's have a look at what blogs are giving us this week. A lot for a current events junky! So much so that not only have bloggers gone mainstream, and actually got credentialed and actually let in (and didn't have to sit in a janitor's closet or anything! Even WiFi, I hear!), but the main stream press have started their own blogs.

Different strategies: Dave Weinberger, is a legit blogger, and author of two important books about what the internet is really about (disclosure: I'm a slacker and still haven't read them, though I mean to). He's in at the DNC, but adopted by the Boston Globe, so he's getting a wider audience, they get "street cred" (yeah, the mean streets of the net).

Dave Winer, a forefather of blogging is going straight up: nothing different except for one week his focus will be a little different. Dave tends to bug me (he still uses Internet Explorer for one, despite the fact he should know better), but I still read his stuff because I try to get multiple angles on things. Dave also was one of the originators of RSS, which is one of my all-time favorite things on the web. On top of that, big ups on his aggregated site of credentialed bloggers (along with other feeds of similarly minded bloggers and some main stream sources). It looks very good. Which is hard for anything that Dave is related to. Anything Radio or Manilla is simply heinous, visually. Props to Bryan Bell for doing his best with a bad lot. Those icons are hideous. Find some good icons.

Mainstreamers: CNN and MSNBC are attempting their own blogs manned by talking heads and political pundits you'd recognize. Interesting both, but certainly don't have the spontaneity of a real blog or the real feel. The better of the two is definitely Hardball's Hardblogger.msnbc.com. It has a terrible name, but it has Joe Trippi and Ron Regan on top of the normal lot of boredom, stupidity (Scarborough) and the only talking head on TV that I trust, Chris Matthews.

CNN's Convention Blog (went with a too boring name. Somewhere between that and Hardblogger is a good name) gets second place, and only gets mention for having the former The Daily Show correspondent Mo Rocca on board. He'll also be on Larry King Live all week. Nice.

I'll have Boston DNC updates here all week, if I see anything worth writing about. Today, about half of our employees rode their bikes to work. That's up from 1/3. I think that's great. I was once the only of of the current crew who did, so I'm proud to see if grow. On my ride home I saw the Massachusetts State Police shutting down Memorial Drive for the night. Helicopters patrolling up and down the Charles River on my ride to and from work.

My take on the convention tonight is that there have been excellent speeches from Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, and currently, as I type Bill Clinton is putting one over the wall as well. Bill has always been a phenomenal speaker. Like him or not, he's a talented orator. Al only learned to speak after he lost the 2000 election, which is too bad. Jimmy Carter is certainly aging and his accent made him sound like he had had a stroke. Reports say his speech read (on paper) even better. So the Democrats are having a very good first inning. Can they keep up the pace?

Posted in: Politics · Web

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9/11 Tab Dump

jake on 2004.07.26 at 03:55 pm

• 9/11 commission report: much of what we knew was wrong. - The