Prometheus 6

This could become semi-regular because

1. I have to take a walk every day
2. I frequently have a thought I'd like to follow up on while I'm nowhere near paper and pen
   

Quote of note:

Reid Calls Bush 'A Loser,' Then Apologizes
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid Calls Bush 'A Loser,' Apologizes to White House Official
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA
The Associated Press

May. 9, 2005 - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called President Bush "a loser" during a civics discussion with a group of teenagers at a high school on Friday.

"The man's father is a wonderful human being," Reid, D-Nev., told students at Del Sol High School when asked about the president's policies. "I think this guy is a loser."

Shortly after the event Reid called the White House to apologize, his spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. Reid spoke with Bush adviser Karl Rove, asking him to convey the apology to Bush, who was traveling in Europe.

The Nevada Democrat expressed "regret for the comments, that it was inappropriate," Hafen said. Reid was giving a late speech in Salt Lake City and was unavailable for comment, she said.

Reid Offers Olive Branch on Bush Nominee
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid Gives Support to a Bush Judicial Nominee As Goodwill Gesture
By JESSE J. HOLLAND Associated Press Writer

Bush: Americans Ready to Invest S.S. Funds
Bush Says Americans From All Backgrounds Are Comfortable With Investing Retirement Funds
The Associated Press

May. 4, 2005 - President Bush said Wednesday that private investment accounts created from Social Security payroll taxes is an idea whose time has come as more Americans are comfortable with putting their retirement funds in the market.

Bush told the Latino Small Business Economic Conference that "people from all walks of life" are investing in 401k retirement accounts offered by their employers.

"I went down to the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi, (Tuesday) and it was a very diverse audience, a lot of assembly line workers," Bush said. "And I said, `How many of you all have got your own 401k?' I mean, the number of hands that went up was astounding."

Now ask them what's in the 401K.

Quote of note:

...the US efforts have been frustrated by a block of developing countries, led by Egypt, that have insisted the gathering should also address US disarmament pledges.

The United States is under fire for what some nations see as its violations of agreements made under the nonproliferation treaty in 1995 and 2000 to dismantle some of its weapons. In preparatory meetings with other countries before this year's conference, the Bush administration distanced itself from those commitments and refused to sign on to an agenda for the conference that explicitly referenced past pledges, saying those commitments were not binding, according to the UN officials and delegates involved.

That assertion alarmed many arms-control advocates.

Nations say US shirks its arms vows
The spotlight shifts at nuclear conference
By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff  |  May 9, 2005

Orrr....when they embarrass themselves?

Bride prosecuted on '96 shoplifting charge
May 9, 2005

ATLANTA --The attorney for runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks previously prosecuted her for shoplifting nearly a decade ago and, in another case, Wilbanks served jail time for shoplifting, according to court records.

Lydia Sartain -- Wilbanks' current attorney -- prosecuted her in 1996 for allegedly shoplifting $1,740 in merchandise from a Gainesville mall, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, citing court records.

Sartain, who was then Hall County district attorney, dropped the felony charge after the then 24-year-old completed a pretrial diversion program, which included 75 hours of community service and restitution, according to court records.

Quote of note:

But significantly, the fact that George Bush's black votes in Ohio doubled since 2000 (8% to 16%), and given the margin of victory at a little over 100,000 votes, these voters probably delivered victory for the president.

Whut?

I thought Bush owed his victory to the Religious Right.

Now, if Bush owes his victory to Black folks, are we going to start getting pork?

GOP Whispers To Black Voters
By Lisa Fabrizio
May 9, 2005

As if America's 'loyal opposition' didn't have enough trouble, another issue is quietly trickling its way into the public eye. An editorial piece in the Philadelphia Enquirer entitled, "Black Voters Warm to GOP," overtly states what, up to now, could only be whispered within Beltway confines: some black voters are leaving the Democratic Party.

This

...is not work safe, but is funny as hell.

This

...is work safe, but perhaps shouldn't be.

Stop being dicks.

Animal Rights Activists Step Up Attacks in N.Y.
Families of Drug Executives Are Harassed
By Michelle Garcia
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, May 9, 2005; Page A03

LAUREL HOLLOW, N.Y. -- Early one recent morning, the wife of a pharmaceutical executive was followed to her workplace, her car was broken into and her credit cards were stolen; later $20,000 in unauthorized charitable donations were billed on the cards.

It was the latest in a series of attacks by the Animal Liberation Front on the Long Island family. The activists, who have asserted responsibility, once scrawled "Puppy Killer" in red paint on the executive's house and have posted the couple's phone, license plate and bank account numbers on the Internet, along with this threat: "If we find a dime of that money granted to those charities was taken back, we will strip you bare."

An Assertive Scientific Advisory Group Challenges Federal Policies

By PHILIP M. BOFFEY

The National Academy of Sciences, once thought of as a timid, somnolent adviser on national affairs, has shown an unusually tough and independent streak in recent weeks. In rapid succession the academy's operating arm, the National Research Council, has criticized some pet projects and policies of powerful federal agencies and even the White House. That is a welcome onslaught of truth-telling at a time when rabid partisans routinely shade the facts for political gain.

The academy, which is based in Washington, operates a vast array of advisory committees that provide advice to the federal government and other sponsors who contract for its services. Typically, Congress or a federal agency might ask the academy to review the evidence and render a verdict on some important technical issue - everything from improving the census to protecting the environment from genetically engineered animals. The academy will then round up experts to produce a report that is supposed to be the definitive word on the subject.

Quote of note:

Teen birthrates fell by 30% between 1991 and 2002. The number of violent crimes in schools was halved between 1992 and 2002. Teen homicide rates dropped to their lowest level since 1966. Teen suicides decreased by 25%, and drug abuse, binge drinking and smoking all fell.

Yet the number of couples living together unmarried increased by more than 70% over the decade; the population at large increased by only 13% during this period. Gay and lesbian parenting became more common. The number of families headed by single mothers rose five times faster than the number of married-couple families.

Obviously, attributing the improvements of the 1990s to the continued increases in families headed by single moms is as absurd as blaming all the social ills of the 1980s on divorce.

Our Kids Are Not Doomed
By Stephanie Coontz
Stephanie Coontz, author of "Marriage, a History" (Viking, 2005), teaches family history at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash.
May 9, 2005

Bush and Putin Stand Unified on Terrorism
- By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
Sunday, May 8, 2005

Changing the tone from tough talk to friendship, President Bush and Vladimir Putin went out of their way to take a unified stand on Middle East peace and terrorism Sunday after sharp words in recent days about democratic backsliding and postwar Soviet domination.

A smiling Putin even put Bush behind the wheel of his prized 1956 Volga, a pristine white sedan, and let him take it for a spin around the grounds of his private compound 25 miles west of Moscow. Putin also kidded the president about Laura Bush's recent comedy routine. The happy picture of the two presidents summed up a theme that aides on both sides described   powerful leaders who have a strong relationship and can discuss their disagreements.

The wedding dance:

Mac users running Safari: First:

Type "remove widget" into Apple Help, and you find out:

You cannot remove widgets from the Widget Bar or change their order.

Most of those reading this are probably aware of the workaround - just remove the offending widget from ~/Library/Widgets/. The Dashboard bar is not very good about updating when a widget is removed, but eventually it figures things out.

Also:

Daniel Naito
When the GreenZap Widget is downloaded, there are two very easy ways to delete it without rebooting:
1. In terminal, type "kill zaptastic_evil\ DashboardClient"
2. Use Activity Monitor to force the offending widget to quit.

The reason I mention it is someone figured out how to make and autoinstall evil widgets...which are much easier to monitor and get rid of than ActiveX controls are, but still...

GOP, Like Companies, Wants Workers to Carry the Safety Net
Ronald Brownstein
Washington Outlook
May 9, 2005

In an era when employers are retreating from the guaranteed benefits that once defined the American social safety net, should government accelerate or resist the trend?

...Bush and other Republicans are looking to limit government's financial exposure and shift more of the risk for ensuring pension and healthcare security to workers and retirees in the name of increasing choice.

That's exactly what employers have done for a generation, replacing plans that guaranteed workers a fixed monthly pension with systems that obligate employers to make only a monthly contribution to investment accounts workers manage themselves. On healthcare as well, employers are replacing programs that provided workers a defined benefit with alternatives that promise only a defined contribution.

Strong competition leads naturally to class structure
09 April 2005

EVERY society has its classes - the rich, the poor, and the middle class in-between. Now it seems that the divisions may be a mathematical consequence of competition between people.

Sidney Redner and Eli Ben-Naim of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico created a mathematical model of society based on each person's "fitness" - a number that reflects their wealth or social status. When two individuals compete, the fitter wins, growing fitter, while the fitness of individuals who do not compete declines.

Surprisingly, social classes emerge naturally from such a model. When there were few encounters, everyone remained as a single class - the loose equivalent of an underdeveloped society. But stronger competition led to the natural emergence of a "hierarchical phase", with distinct groups resembling lower, middle and upper classes (www.arxiv.org/cond-mat/0503451).

Quote of note:

John Adams Hurson, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates who is president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, said: "I am a Democrat, a liberal Democrat, but we can't sustain the current Medicaid program. It's fiscal madness. It doesn't guarantee good care, and it's a budget buster. We need to instill a greater sense of personal responsibility so people understand that this care is not free."

States Proposing Sweeping Change to Trim Medicaid
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, May 8 - Governors and state legislators have devised proposals for sweeping changes in Medicaid to curb its rapid growth and save billions of dollars.

I just took a closer look at what goes on in the user records. On the one hand I'm impressed again; on the other hand, I have a bunch of stupid code now...

Quote of note:

It's especially critical, she says, after a May 3 letter to parents signed by the PTO's executive board stating: "In light of the fact that various individuals and groups are trying to politicize the PTO, we have decided to cancel all further PTO meetings for the duration of the 2004-05 school year."

Charter threatens parents with lawsuit
By DAVE BREITENSTEIN, [email protected]
LISA RAMIREZ-JOHNSON, [email protected]

Charter Schools USA is threatening legal action against parents who use an Internet discussion board to air grievances about Gateway Charter.

I find it funny that certain elements don't mind discriminating but are terribly upset when their behavior is said to exist...no specific person or organization is accused, the behavior is simply reported and certain elements take it as a personal attack.

"What's your point?" of note:

Williams said the curriculum juxtaposes faiths such as Quakers that support full rights for gays and lesbians with groups such as Baptists, who are painted as "intolerant and Biblically misguided."

Paradoxically-named organization of note:

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, a group comprising mostly parents, and the Virginia-based Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays.[P6:ain't that everyone?]

Judge blocks Maryland sex-ed program

Maybe he doesn't...though that's a frightening thought on several levels.

I have a good set of mental models of typical human behavior but obviously I'm missing one or two so I'm working on a new model as we speak (as it were).

Texas House to cheerleaders: Don't shake it

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) -- Texas lawmakers sent a message to the state's high school cheerleaders Wednesday: no more booty-shaking at the game.

The state's House of Representatives voted 85-55 to approve a bill that would forbid sexy cheers and give the Texas Education Agency authority to punish schools that allow "overtly sexually suggestive" routines at football games and other events.

Dominion Theology is a theological form of Dominionism practiced by a very small set of religious movements within Protestant Christian evangelicalism and fundamentalism. Primarily found in the United States, Dominion Theology has also appeared in Canada, and several European countries.

Dominion Theology is derived from the Biblical text where God grants humankind "dominion" over the Earth. It is influenced by postmillennialism, a view of the End Times which believes that godliness will eventually pervade secular society (some so-called "Golden Age" postmillennialists believe the present age will culminate in a literal one-thousand-year period of virtual heaven on earth, a millennium)before Jesus returns in a Second Coming.